Swift: How to assign a variable by reference, not by value?

Question

I'm trying to get a reference to an Array and make modifications to it. Because Arrays in Swift are value types, instead of reference types, if I assign my array to a variable first, I am getting a copy of the array instead of the actual array:

var odds = ["1", "3", "5"]
var evens = ["2", "4", "6"]

var source = odds
var destination = evens

var one = odds.first!

source.removeFirst() // only removes the first element of the `source` array, not the `odds` array

destination.append(one)

When we look at the odds and evens arrays, they are unaltered because we changed the source and destination arrays.

I know that I can use the inout parameter attribute on a function to pass them by reference, instead of by value:

func move(inout source: [String], inout destination: [String], value:String) {
    source.removeAtIndex(source.indexOf(value)!)
    destination.append(value)
}

move(&odds, destination: &evens, value:one)

Is there a way to assign these arrays to a variable by reference, instead of by value?

Answer 1

You cannot assign an array to a variable by reference in Swift.

"In Swift, Array, String, and Dictionary are all value types..."

Source: https://developer.apple.com/swift/blog/?id=10