Reference Types

Reference types, Value types, and Patterns - slide 2 : 29

Reference Types

A class is a reference type

Objects instantiated from classes are accessed by references

The objects are allocated on the heap

Instances of classes are dealt with by use of so-called reference semantics

Reference semantics:
- Assignment, parameter passing, and return manipulates references to objects
The heap:
- The memory area where instances of classes are allocated
- Allocation takes place when a class is instantiated
- Deallocation takes place when the object no longer affects the program
  - In practice, when there are no references left to the object
  - By a separate thread of control called the garbage collector