What is the "^" symbol in C++?
Has a new symbol joined the C++ language specification while I was sleeping under a rock?
I just encountered the following question:
Restrict Text Box to only accept 10 digit number
Which suggests that the '^' symbol is somehow part of C++ (not in the legacy meaning of a bitwise-XOR)
Is this so?
If so, what does it mean? (I tried to google the question but Google didn't come up with satisfactory answers)
Answer
In C++ the “^” symbol is the bitwise exclusive or (xor) operator. For a single bit you have 0 ^ 0 = 1 ^ 1 = 0 and 0 ^ 1 = 1 ^ 0 = 1.
However, in the question you are refering to it is part of Microsoft special syntax for C++ development on the .NET platform known as C++/CLI or It Just Works.
Memory on .NET is garbage collected and references to objects will have to be tracked. This makes it impossible to reference these objects using a normal C++ pointer. Microsoft has decided to reuse the “^” symbol to declare a variable somewhat similar to a pointer that can reference an object on the managed heap.