[saghm]

> When you write `int& ref = ptr;` you are dereferencing the pointer with `ptr` therefore you have promised that it's valid.

Yes, that's exactly the problem. "I promise I didn't make a mistake when reasoning about this code" is tied for worst strategy in the world for preventing bugs, along with every other strategy that doesn't actually prevent bugs.

[zarzavat]

The danger and utility of pointer are two sides of the same coin. You can reduce the need for pointers but not eliminate them completely if you want to be able to call C functions or build low-level data structures.

The real problem is that references are not good enough in C++, so some C++ developers end up using pointers for everything. Rust's references are good enough that you can avoid using pointers most of the time.