pointers - What does 'return *this' mean in C++?

Question

I'm converting a C++ program to C#, but this part has me confused. What does return *this mean?

template< EDemoCommands msgType, typename PB_OBJECT_TYPE >
class CDemoMessagePB : public IDemoMessage, public PB_OBJECT_TYPE
{
    (...)
    virtual ::google::protobuf::Message& GetProtoMsg()  { return *this; }
}

How would it translate into C#?

Answer 1

this means pointer to the object, so *this is an object. So you are returning an object ie, *this returns a reference to the object.