Rainer Deyke wrote:
Yes, it is. Mainly because C++ doesn't have reference types in same way
that D does.
In C++, values of *all* types (including primitive integral types and
even pointer types) can be placed on the heap, and such values are
*always* managed by (smart) pointers, with pointer syntax. In this
sense, all types in C++ can be used as reference types.
There are C++ classes that are meant to always be placed on the heap and
managed by a pointer. They are the closest C++ has to D-style classes.
They are exceedingly rare. They're also easy to identify: their
constructors are protected, so the only way to instantiate them is by
calling a factory function that returns a (smart) pointer.
A reference type isn't defined as one that only exists on the heap. Even
in D, value types can be in the heap, and reference types can be on the
stack.
The value/reference dichotomy is how the object is referred to, not
where it is.
