ref

https://acornmetric.com/s/P2KJOP6B9nxQdlAXWY1Q-

Think of a reference like a friend vouching for you when you apply for a job, but in code it's a variable that points to where data lives in memory. When you assign a value to a variable in many languages, you're creating a reference that can be passed around or stored, saving time and space. It's a bit like a library card—it tells you where the book is, but doesn't give you the whole story at once.