title: Are there pointers in javascript?
body: <p>I used C++ before and I realized that pointers were very helpful. Is there anything in javascript that acts like a pointer? Does javascript have pointers? I like to use pointers when I want to use something like:</p>
  
  <pre><code>var a = 1;
  var b = "a";
  document.getElementById(/* value pointed by b */).innerHTML="Pointers";
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I know that this is an extremely simple example and I could just use <code>a</code>, but there are several more complex examples where I would find pointers very useful. Any ideas?</p>