You don't get references.

What this C++ reference-semantics question tests

This is a medium-difficulty C++ language question that probes your understanding of references and how they differ from pointers and value semantics. It asks you to trace through code and predict its output—a skill that matters in systems programming and quant interview loops where correctness depends on precise mental models of memory and aliasing.

To answer questions like this, you need to track how references bind to objects, whether reassignment creates a new binding or modifies the underlying object, and how references interact with scope and const-qualification. Many candidates confuse reference behavior with pointer behavior or misunderstand the immutability of the binding itself.

• Reference binding and aliasing
• Const references and non-const references
• Reference initialization vs. reassignment
• Scope and lifetime of referenced objects