Discussion Is there a use case for makeref()?

[Kahenraz]

I see makeref() used throughout various scripts but I don't see a valid use case for it and haven't been able to come up with a reason for its existence. I suspect that it may be an artifact of an earlier version of the scripting language before the '&' operator became available.

Here is an example using makeref() to create a reference to a variable 'num' as 'rNum'. It can be demonstrated than 'rNum' references 'num':

string num = 123;

ref rNum;  makeref(rNum, num)
rNum = 456;

trace(num); // Outputs 456

This function isn't necessary since the '&' operator can already be used to assign a reference:

string num = 123;

ref rNum = #
rNum = 456;

trace(num); // Outputs 456

There are no problems working with arrays either:

int list[2];

list[0] = 123;
ref rNum = &list[0];
rNum = 456;

trace(list[0]); // Outputs 456

Is there an actual use case for makeref() or is it considered a deprecated feature?

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Is there an actual use case for makeref() or is it considered a deprecated feature?

Honestly, I am not at all sure.
My actual IT knowledge is very limited and I barely know what any of these details mean.

Maybe you can find some clues about your question in these tutorials that @Levis wrote?
New Horizons Modding | PiratesAhoy!

 

[Levis]

I think using the & and makeref should yield the same result. But I'm not sure about the performance. Haven't ever checked to see which one works better. The original code also uses makeref so I guess others used that because that's what the original designers used a lot. I'm also not enterily sure if the scope of the ref is the same when using makeref or &, that's something you could try.
The makearef (I believe it was called that) function might still be needed if you want to create a reference to an attribute of an object. I believe from what I remember the & operator wont accept that very well.