Q: /I have an object composed of 12 doubles. A const& to this object is returned by a member function of another class. From the viewpoint of using the returned object in Python I do not care if I get a copy or a reference to the returned object. In Boost.Python I have the choice of using copy_const_reference or return_internal_reference. Are there considerations that would lead me to prefer one over the other, such as size of generated code or memory overhead?/

A: copy_const_reference will make an instance with storage for one of your objects, size = base_size + 12 * sizeof(double). return_internal_reference will make an instance with storage for a pointer to one of your objects, size = base_size + sizeof(void*). However, it will also create a weak reference object which goes in the source object's weakreflist and a special callback object to manage the lifetime of the internally-referenced object. My guess? copy_const_reference is your friend here, resulting in less overall memory use and less fragmentation, also probably fewer total cycles.