Thanks for the explanation, this really piques my interest in Rust. BTW, now I have a follow-up to my question whether Rust's references are the analogue to C++ weak pointers. C++ weak pointers can be dangling, but in a controlled manner, that is, one can ask them whether they're dangling or not. Am I correct in assuming that Rust will never allow anything like a dangling pointer, not even the "controlled dangling" of a C++ weak pointer?