SourcePro : Essential Tools Module User's Guide : Collection Classes : Storage Methods of Collection Classes
Storage Methods of Collection Classes
The general task of collection classes, called collections for short, is to store and retrieve objects. In fact, you can classify collection classes according to how they store objects.
Value-based collections store the object itself; reference-based collections store a pointer or reference to the object. The difference between the two influences how you use some features of collection classes in the Essential Tools Module.