[section boost/python/return_internal_reference.hpp]
[section Introduction]
`return_internal_reference` instantiations are models of [link concepts.callpolicies `CallPolicies`] which allow pointers and references to objects held internally by a free or member function argument or from the target of a member function to be returned safely without making a copy of the referent. The default for its first template argument handles the common case where the containing object is the target (`*this`) of a wrapped member function. 
[endsect]
[section Class template `return_internal_reference`]
[table
 [[Parameter][Requirements][Description][Default]]
 [[owner_arg][A positive compile-time constant of type `std::size_t`.][The index of the parameter which contains the object to which the reference or pointer is being returned. If used to wrap a member function, parameter 1 is the target object (`*this`). Note that if the target Python object type doesn't support weak references, a Python TypeError exception will be raised when the function being wrapped is called.][]]
 [[Base][A model of [link concepts.callpolicies `CallPolicies`]][Used for policy composition. Any `result_converter` it supplies will be overridden by `return_internal_reference`, but its `precall` and `postcall` policies are composed as described here [link concepts.callpolicies `CallPolicies`].][default_call_policies]]
]
``
namespace boost { namespace python
{
   template <std::size_t owner_arg = 1, class Base = default_call_policies>
   struct return_internal_reference : Base
   {
      static PyObject* postcall(PyObject*, PyObject* result);
      typedef reference_existing_object result_converter;
   };
}}
``
[endsect]
[section Class `return_internal_reference` static functions]
``PyObject* postcall(PyObject* args, PyObject* result);``
[variablelist
[[Requires][`PyTuple_Check(args) != 0`]]
[[Returns][[link function_invocation_and_creation.models_of_callpolicies.boost_python_with_custodian_and_.class_with_custodian_and_ward_st `with_custodian_and_ward_postcall::postcall(args, result)`]]]
]
[endsect]
[section Example]
C++ module definition:
``
#include <boost/python/module.hpp>
#include <boost/python/class.hpp>
#include <boost/python/return_internal_reference.hpp>

class Bar
{
 public:
   Bar(int x) : x(x) {}
   int get_x() const { return x; }
   void set_x(int x) { this->x = x; }
 private:
   int x;
};

class Foo
{
 public:
   Foo(int x) : b(x) {}

   // Returns an internal reference
   Bar const& get_bar() const { return b; }

 private:
   Bar b;
};

using namespace boost::python;
BOOST_PYTHON_MODULE(internal_refs)
{
   class_<Bar>("Bar", init<int>())
      .def("get_x", &Bar::get_x)
      .def("set_x", &Bar::set_x)
      ;

   class_<Foo>("Foo", init<int>())
      .def("get_bar", &Foo::get_bar
          , return_internal_reference<>())
      ;
}
``
Python code:
``
>>> from internal_refs import *
>>> f = Foo(3)
>>> b1 = f.get_bar()
>>> b2 = f.get_bar()
>>> b1.get_x()
3
>>> b2.get_x()
3
>>> b1.set_x(42)
>>> b2.get_x()
42
``
[endsect]
[endsect]