rust armanazi reference vs pointer

In Rust, there are two ways to refer to a value: by reference or by pointer.

A reference in Rust is a way to borrow a value without taking ownership of it. References are denoted by the & symbol. When you pass a reference to a function or assign it to a variable, you are allowing that function or variable to access the value, but you still retain ownership of the original value. References are used for borrowing values, allowing multiple parts of your code to access and work with the same value without having to make copies of it.

On the other hand, a pointer in Rust is a way to store the memory address of a value. Pointers are denoted by the * symbol. Pointers can be used to create and manipulate data structures, such as linked lists or trees, that require explicit memory management. However, unlike references, pointers don't have the same safety guarantees that Rust provides. Pointers can be null or dangling, leading to undefined behavior if they are used incorrectly.

It is generally recommended to use references over pointers in Rust whenever possible, as references are safer and easier to use. Rust's ownership system and borrow checker ensure that references are always valid and prevent common issues like null or dangling references. Pointers should only be used when you need low-level control over memory or when interacting with external code that expects pointers.

To summarize, references in Rust are a safe and convenient way to borrow values, while pointers provide more low-level control but come with additional responsibilities and risks.