If you are an experienced C/C++ programmer, then you know that these languages
provide support for pointers. The reason for this is simple: Java does not support or allow pointers. (Or
more properly, Java does not support pointers that can be accessed and/or modified
by the programmer.) Java cannot allow pointers, because doing so would allow Java
applets to breach the firewall between the Java execution environment and the host
computer. (Remember, a pointer can be given any address in memory—even addresses
that might be outside the Java run-time system.) Since C/C++ make extensive use of
pointers, you might be thinking that their loss is a significant disadvantage to Java.
However, this is not true. Java is designed in such a way that as long as you stay within
the confines of the execution environment, you will never need to use a pointer, nor would
there be any benefit in using one. For tips on converting C/C++ code to Java
