References Recall that an Abstract Data Type (ADT) has a set of values and a set of operations on those values Pointers and references have the same set of values (memory addresses) Pointers have more defined operations than references Pointers are more flexible and more general than references References are safer than pointers (from error or malicious misuse) References allow automatic garbage collection (pointers don't) A (non-abstract) Data Type also has an implementation The implementations of pointers and references are similar Java references carry information about the thing referenced; in C, it's up to the compiler to figure out what it can
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