What is wrong with this reference?

[Michael]

This is the sample program:

#include<cstdio>

int main()
{
int*const a=new int;
const int*const&b=a;
printf("%p %p\n",&a,&b);
delete a;
return 0;
}

When running, it produces:

0x7fff1dc49fc8 0x7fff1dc49fb8

That means the memory locations of a and b are different i.e. a and b is
different object! I want to make something that *a is modifiable but *b is
not (to be used inside a class) but the following code generates a
compile-time error:

#include<cstdio>

int main()
{
int*a=new int;
const int*&b=a;
printf("%p %p\n",&a,&b);
delete a;
return 0;
}

test.cpp:6: error: invalid initialization of reference of type ‘const int*&’
from expression of type ‘int*’

The following code runs perfect:

#include<cstdio>

int main()
{
int*a=new int;
const int&b=a;
printf("%p %p\n",&a,&b);
return 0;
}

What is the problem in the first code (I am using g++ 4.2.4)?

 

[Ian Collins]

This is the sample program:

What was wrong with the answers you received the first time you posted?

 

[Triple-DES]

What was wrong with the answers you received the first time you posted?

He corrected:
int a=new int;
to
int*a=new int;

I still have a hard time believing that this program "runs perfect",
given the line:
const int&b=a;