Quick question from a noob: why do references make it harder to make a fast implementation? I'm genuinely interested in the topic, could you post a link to your PhD thesis or some other relevant information?
Cheers
[snip]...consequence of this is that in many implementations, operating on a variable with automatic or static lifetime through a reference, although syntactically similar to accessing it directly, can involve hidden dereference operations that are costly.[/snip]