Here are some fundamental characteristics of references:
- Reference does not have a concrete position in space and hence does not have its own reference, i.e., references represent themselves by value
- Reference exists within objects as their parts (fields) where it has a concrete position, which is not a reference (it is an offset). In other words, objects are identified by references within a container while references are identified by positins within an object.
- References are passed by value and can exist in different objects so that references are travelling things (in contrast to objects which have a constant position in space).
- References may have an internal structure (just like objects)
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