As pointed out here #11430 (comment), here #11430 (comment) and in some of the comments on that issue, the naming convention for Ref and RefValue is probably not the best and causes some confusion.

I'd like to propose the following changes

• Ref -> CRef, ARef (A for Abstract) or ByRef (proposed by @JeffBezanson)
• RefValue -> Ref (and export this)

and leaving RefArray as it is.

As pointed out by @vtjnash, most of the time what people need is the abstract version, but for #11430 and #18965 having Ref to mean RefValue would be more convenient.

Also, quoting @StefanKarpinski

I think that simple concrete names should be used for simple concrete things; programming correctly to an abstraction requires awareness and care, so having a name that reminds you of that is a good thing.