Article 65 - Java Pass By Value or By Reference Revisited

Recently, it has been a hot topic debating why Java is neither pass by value nor by reference.

This article extends Article 5 - Are Java Functions Pass By Value or By Reference?, you may wish to read that first.

To support the argument, we first look at a C++ function that pass by value and then another that pass by reference, and then constrast it with Java methods.

C++ Pass By Value Function

In C++, pass by value means to duplicate the variable's content onto the stack from memory.

We will discuss in context of the given struct Object declaration.

struct Object

When we invoke the function c_pass_by_value() with the Object struct, the structure's content is copied onto the stack.

c_pass_by_value() function

Within the function, anything we change is visible only in the copied structure, the original is preserved.

c_pass_by_value() example

Constrast this to the Java's method in the following example. Given the java_method(), we invoke it with the Object to see it's effect.

java_pass_by_value() example

C++ Pass By Reference Function

When we invoke the function c_pass_by_reference() with the Object struct, the structure's address is implicitly copied onto the stack.

c_pass_by_reference() function

Within the function, anything we change is visible, even outside the function.

c_pass_by_reference() example

Constrast this to the Java's method in the following example. Given the java_method(), we invoke it with the Object to see it's effect.

java_pass_by_reference() example

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