Terminology: "reference" versus "pointer"

[Random832]

On Mon, Sep 14, 2015, at 13:51, Emile van Sebille wrote:
> Actually, boxes with integers in them isn't the appropriate analogy. 
> Consider the naming of cats.  My cat is known to me as Paddy.  My next 
> door neighbor sometimes feeds her and is known to her as Stripes.  The 
> cat also is known as kitty to my youngest daughter.  The cat has no idea 
> what its name is, it just is and eats.  So three labels, one object. 
> Putting the object in three boxes isn't right

The point is that with immutable objects no-one cares if they are three
objects with the same value, or three references to the same object.
Your cat is not an integer.