How to return NULL object in C++

Question

I know that this might be a duplicate of: Return a "NULL" object if search result not found

BUT, there's something different going on with my code because the asterisk doesn't solve my problem, which is this:

Normal Sphere::hit(Ray ray) {    //stuff is done here    if(something happens) {        return NULL;    }    //other stuff    return Normal(something, somethingElse); } 

But I get an error referencing the return NULL line: conversion from ‘int’ to non-scalar type ‘Normal’ requested

And another error and warning that referencing the last return line: warning: taking address of temporary and conversion from ‘Normal*’ to non-scalar type 'Normal' requested

I understand why I am getting this warning, but I don't know how to fix it. How do I return a Normal object in the last line that persists after the function ends and how do I return a NULL object that first time? (If there's a term for these types of returns, please let me know so I can also read up on it more.)

To clarify a commenter's question, I've tried these things:

I tried doing this: Normal *Sphere::hit(Ray ray) in the cpp file and Normal *hit( Ray ray ); in the header file and I get this error: error: prototype for ‘Normal* Sphere::hit(Ray)’ does not match any in class 'Sphere'

I also tried this: Normal Sphere::*hit(Ray ray) in the cpp file and Normal *hit( Ray ray); in the header file and I get this error for the second return statement: cannot convert 'Normal*' to 'Normal Sphere::*' in return

Further clarification: I'm not asking about how pointers work. (That wasn't the main question.) I'm wondering about syntax regarding pointers in C++. So, given the function I've specified above, I've gleaned that I should specify a return a pointer because C++ doesn't have null objects. Got it. BUT, the problem then becomes: what should the function prototype look like? In the cpp file, I have what Bala suggested (which is what I had originally but changed it because of the following error):

Normal* Sphere::hit(Ray ray) {    //stuff is done here    if(something happens) {        return NULL;    }    //other stuff    return new Normal(something, somethingElse); } 

In the header file, I have Normal *hit(Ray ray), but I still get this message: prototype for 'Normal* Sphere::hit(Ray)' does not match any in class 'Sphere' At this point, it is unclear to me why it can't find that function prototype. Here is the header file:

class Sphere {     public:         Sphere();         Vector3 center;         float radius;         Normal* hit(Ray ray); }; 

Can anyone see why it's complaining that there doesn't exist a matching prototype for hit in the Sphere class? (I might move this to a separate question...)

Answer 1

I think you need something like

Normal* Sphere::hit(Ray ray) {    //stuff is done here    if(something happens) {        return NULL;    }    //other stuff    return new Normal(something, somethingElse); } 

to be able to return NULL;