Overloading assignment operator in C++
- by jasonline
As I've understand, when overloading operator=, the return value should should be a non-const reference.
A& A::operator=( const A& )
{
// check for self-assignment, do assignment
return *this;
}
It is non-const to allow non-const member functions to be called in cases like:
( a = b ).f();
But why should it return a reference? In what instance will it give a problem if the return value is not declared a reference, let's say return by value?
