What does ArrayList actually stores - References to objects or actual objects?

Question

Suppose my code goes like this:

ArrayList list = new ArrayList();
Student s = new Student();    // creating object of Student class

myList.add(s);      // Here am confused ...

/* myList contains just the reference variable to the Student object, OR

   myList contains the actual Student object (memory allocation for name, rollNo etc)  ??   
*/

In Short when adding objects to ArrayList using add():

ArrayList is a list of "References to objects" or its a list of "actual objects" ???

Answer 1

Objects within the ArrayList themselves are stored on the heap. The ArrayList simply provides references to those objects and the ArrayList instance is also on the heap.

Object references, at the end of the day, are simply addresses to locations within memory where the object is stored. Hence, the ArrayList contains arrays of references to objects stored on the heap (or in memory).

Answer 2

In Java, you never pass around actual objects. You are always dealing with a reference, which is essentially just an address to a location within memory where your object is stored.

Since you never work with actual objects, ArrayLists contains arrays of references to objects stored somewhere else (a place in memory called the heap).