why local variables cannot be ref?

[Fanda Vacek]

On Monday, 25 November 2019 at 05:51:31 UTC, Rumbu wrote:
> On Monday, 25 November 2019 at 03:07:08 UTC, Fanda Vacek wrote:
>> Maybe I'm missing the thing, but I'm not able to declare local 
>> ref variable even if simple workaround exists. Is this 
>> preferred design pattern?
>>
>> ```
>> int main()
>> {
>> 	int a = 1;
>> 	//ref int b = a; // Error: variable `tst_ref.main.b` only 
>> parameters or `foreach` declarations can be `ref`
>> 	ref int b() { return a; }
>> 	b = 2;
>> 	assert(a == 2);
>> 	return 0;
>> }
>> ```
>>
>> Fanda
>
> Probably you are coming from C#. There are no reference 
> variables in D, but you can use pointers like in:
>
> int* b = &a;
> *b = 2;

Thanks for answer, I'm coming from C++. But anyway, pointers are 
not allowed in @safe code, so this is not always solution. 
Workaround exits even for @safe code, so my question remains the 
same. What is a rationale for such a language design restriction, 
if it can be workarounded easily.