C++ also has references, which are like pointers in some ways, except that references cannot be null: Object& obj = other_obj; For this reason, when passing

C++ also has references, which are like pointers in some ways, except that references cannot be null: Object& obj = other_obj; For this reason, when passing objects by reference, references should be preferred to pointers where possible. Consequently, I would translate Java code like: void f(Object obj) { ... } Object obj = ... f(obj); Into C++ code like: void f(Object& obj) { ... } Object& obj = ... f(obj); (Setting aside various other concerns like move semantics and const-correctness.)