Field symbol and data reference concept in ABAP

Question

If we compare ABAP field symbols and data references with the pointer in C, we observe :-

In C, say we declare a variable \"var\" type \"integer\" with default value \"5

Answer 1

A field symbol is - nomen est omen - a symbol for a field. You assign it to a variable and it becomes an alias for that variable.

The main difference between a reference and a field symbol is that a reference can point to anonymous data created by CREATE DATA or CREATE OBJECT. Field symbols must always be assigned to an existing variable.