A handle is the same as a pointer. That's how it's implemented internally.
You just dont have to dereference it.
--Olu E.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Andy Bailey [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Friday, August 13, 1999 11:24 AM
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Re: will this code work?
>
> > Perhaps a problem here is that a lot of these terms
> > (e.g. pass-by-reference) were defined long before object-oriented
> > programming was common. The idea of a variable having methods that
> > can change it wasn't common. The changes in technologoy have made the
> > terms obsolete, or inadequate. But unfortunately, we can't really go
> > around changing the meaning of the terms.
> >
> Hi Milt,
>
> I quite agree, pass-by-reference and pass-by-value have no place in Java
> per
> se.
> The process by which you actually refer to an object is transparent to the
> programmer.
>
> No matter where you are in your code you are working with a handle to the
> object (not a reference,
> a reference is a pointer) for Objects or the actual value for primitives.
>
> The transparency in Java is obtained by hiding all the nasty pointers from
> you, the lucky programmer.
> It is needed because of security issues and because fiddling with pointers
> directly would mean you
> having to forget garbage control and also having all the other problems
> associated with languages that
> give you direct control over memory allocation and management.
>
> It suffices to say Object when we mean handle to object (or reference)
> because there is no other way of actually
> referring to an object. Forget the pass-by-whatever, anyone who doesn't
> know
> these things can learn them
>
> Andy Bailey
>
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