Summary
Pointers and references are two C++ types that point to other variables. They are useful in overlapping situations, and the choice between pointers and references is mostly one of style. Pointers and references are examples of C++ features that are "unsafe," in the sense that they must be used knowledgeably to prevent bugs that cause programs to crash. Among the most important uses introduced so far for pointers and references are iterating through arrays and passing large arrays or class instances into functions efficiently.
The next chapter explores another very important use for pointers—that is, referring to dynamic variables. Dynamic variables don't have a name and are only known by a pointer that refers to them. Dynamic variables
allow C++ programs to access the vast amount of memory in modern computers, and to build up complex containers.