C++ - return pointer or const reference -

i have container has vector of objects.

class container {     vector<foo> objects;

i want to

have read access these objects caller
avoid calling copy constructor
ignore problem of accessing these objects after container goes out of scope (this never happen)

based on that, seems have 2 choices getter method. either return const reference vector, or return pointer const vector

const vector<foo> & getref() { return objects; } const vector<foo> * getptr() { return &objects; }

of course, if i'm caller, need make sure not call copy constructor when iterate. i'd this

for (const foo & f : getref())

and not

for (foo f : getref())

now, should return const reference? or pointer const? what's benefits , drawbacks?

a reference more robust. can't accidentally call delete on it.

MOno