dynamic cast for references

Question

I use dynamic cast for safety:

here is the code I use with pointers:

XYZ xyz = dynamic_cast<XYZ*>(abc);
if (xyz == nullptr)
{
    // TODO handle error
}

Now is there a way to do the same but with references:

XYZ& xyz = dynamic_cast<XYZ&>(abc);
if (xyz == nullptr)
{
    // TODO handle error
}

this code doesn't compile but I am asking is there a way to do that in a similar fashion.

Answer 1

dynamic_cast throws an exception on failure if used with references. To handle failure, catch the exception:

try {
    XYZ& xyz = dynamic_cast<XYZ&>(abc);
}
catch (std::bad_cast& e) {
    //handle error
}