Is it acceptable to always use pointers instead of references, to be easily converted to smart pointers if needed?
c++
Solution
So is it an acceptable practice to always use pointers instead of references, to be easily convert them to smart pointers if needed
No. In general, always rules are always bad. (including this one). Why would you want to convert a reference to a smart pointer? If it's a reference, you don't need to worry about memory management, and that's the purpose of a smart pointer.
Or is there any way to quickly change a reference to pointer?
Yes, taking it's address (`&`).
Problem
I know references are preferred over pointers, but it is very tedious to change all those "." to "->" when needed. So is it an acceptable practice to always use pointers instead of references, to be easily convert them to smart pointers if needed? Or is there any way to quickly change a reference to pointer?