Consider this code,

struct A {};
struct B {  B(const A&) {} };
void f(B)
{
    cout << "f()"<<endl;
}
void g(A &a)
{
    cout << "g()" <<endl;
    f(a); //a is implicitly converted into B.
}
int main()
{
    A a;
    g(a);
}

This compiles fine, runs fine. But if I change f(B) to f(B&), it doesn't compile. If I write f(const B&), it again compiles fine, runs fine. Why is the reason and rationale?

Summary:

void f(B);         //okay
void f(B&);        //error
void f(const B&);  //okay

I would like to hear reasons, rationale and reference(s) from the language specification, for each of these cases. Of course, the function signatures themselves are not incorrect. Rather A implicitly converts into B and const B&, but not into B&, and that causes the compilation error.