C++ newbie: what is the advantage of using a reference to a pointer instead

[Antst]

of a pointer to a pointer? I know that pointers-to-pointers are left-overs from C. But I don't understand what they are for and WHY it is considered better to use references (at least, my books say it is better to use references).

I would really appreciate it if someone could explain (1) the advantages of using references, (2) an example of why it would be necessary to use a pointer-to-a-pointer, and (3) tell me whether the C++ equivalent of a pointer-to-a-pointer is a reference to a pointer or just a pointer.

Thanks for any help!