Compiler Warning (level 1) C4383

'instance_dereference_operator' : the meaning of dereferencing a handle can change, when a user-defined 'operator' operator exists; write the operator as a static function to be explicit about the operand

Remarks

When you add a user-defined instance override of the dereference operator in a managed type, you potentially override the ability of the type's dereference operator to return the handle's object. Consider writing a static, user-defined dereference operator.

For more information, see Handle to Object Operator (^) and Tracking Reference Operator.

Also, an instance operator is not available to other language compilers via referenced metadata. For more information, see User-Defined Operators (C++/CLI).

Example

The following example generates C4383.

// C4383.cpp
// compile with: /clr /W1

ref struct S {
   int operator*() { return 0; }   // C4383
};

ref struct T {
   static int operator*(T%) { return 0; }
};

int main() {
   S s;
   S^ pS = %s;

   T t;
   T^ pT = %t;
   T% rT = *pT;
}