Why does storing references (not pointers) in containers in C++ not work?
c++, containers, reference, stl
Solution
Containers store objects. References are not objects.
The C++11 specification clearly states (§23.2.1[container.requirements.general]/1):
Containers are objects that store other objects.
Problem
In my program I have a STL set. ``` set<string> myStrings; ``` To improve the efficiency of my code I changed it to hold, only pointers. (I don't need actual string copies to be stored.) ``` set<string*> myStrings; ``` I have read that it is a good practice to substitute pointers with references when possible. (Of course, only if the actual functionality of a pointer is not needed.) ``` set<string&> myStrings; ``` The latter one gives me a lot of compiler errors, though. Why is it not possible to use references as container elements?