Many OOP programming languages (including [[C SharpJava (programming language)|C#Java]], [[D (programming language)|D]], [[ECMAScript]], and [[JavaC Sharp (programming language)|JavaC#]]) make use of object references. Object references, which are similar to pointers in other languages, allow for objects to be passed around by [[Pointer (computer programming)|address]] so that the whole object need not be copied.
A Java example, when "copying" an object using simple assignment:
