Smart Reference Pattern

A smart reference is a replacement for a simple pointer that performs additional actions when an object is accessed. Typical uses include:

• Counting the number of references to the real object,
• Loading a persistent object into memory when it's first referenced
• Checking that the real object is locked before it's accessed to ensure that no other object can change it
• etc

It is basically a combination of counting proxy, virtual proxy, protection proxy, etc.

See: Proxy