Ref

ref (C# Reference)

Visual Studio 2013 Other Versions The ref keyword causes an argument to be passed by reference, not by value. The effect of passing by reference is that any change to the parameter in the called method is reflected in the calling method. For example, if the caller passes a local variable expression or an array element access expression, and the called method replaces the object to which the ref parameter refers, then the caller’s local variable or the array element now refer to the new object.

C# references can, and will be relocated by garbage collector but normal pointers are static. This is why we use fixed keyword when acquiring a pointer to an array element, to prevent it from getting moved.

There is a slight, yet extremely important, distinction between a pointer and a reference. A pointer points to a place in memory while a reference points to an object in memory. Pointers are not "type safe" in the sense that you cannot guarantee the correctness of the memory they point at.