Why Can't I Create a Vector of References in C ?

Vector of References: Why the Prohibition?

When attempting to declare a vector of references, as in std::vector hello;, you may encounter errors such as "pointer to reference is illegal". This occurs because vectors require assignable component types.

References are not assignable. Once a reference is initialized to an object, it must always refer to that object and cannot be modified to point to a different object. This violates the assignability requirement for containers like vectors.

Unfortunately, this means that storing references to structs in a vector is not directly possible using the std::vector syntax. Your only option is to use a vector of pointers instead, as in std::vector hello;. Pointers can be assigned to different memory locations, allowing you to store and modify references to structs.

It's important to note that working with pointers requires careful memory management. You must ensure that pointers are properly allocated and deallocated to avoid memory leaks or dangling pointers. If you are unfamiliar with pointers, it's recommended to use a more beginner-friendly data structure for managing references to structs, such as std::list or std::map.

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