Compiler Warning (level 4) C4460

CLR operator 'operator', has parameter passed by reference. CLR operator 'operator' has different semantics from C++ operator 'operator', did you intend to pass by value?

You passed a value by reference to a user-defined CLR operator. If the value is changed inside the function, note that the value returned after the function call will be assigned the return value of the function. In standard C++, the changed value is reflected after the function call.

Example

The following sample generates C4460.

// C4460.cpp
// compile with: /W4 /clr 
#include <stdio.h>

public value struct V {
   static V operator ++(V& me) {   // C4460
   // try the following line instead
   // static V operator ++(V me) {

      printf_s(__FUNCSIG__ " called\n");
      V tmp = me;
      me.m_i++;
      return tmp;
   }
   int m_i;
};

int main() {
   V v;
   v.m_i = 0;

   printf_s("%d\n", v.m_i);   // Should print 0
   v++;   // Translates to "v = V::operator ++(v)"
   printf_s("%d\n", v.m_i);   // will print 0, hence the warning
}