I understand that value types hold values directly (int, bool, etc.), while reference types (such as classes) hold references to where the values are stored. I haven't yet found an answer to this specific question in other posts regarding reference and value types.
int x = 10; int y = x; // Would y be considered a reference type? I ask this because while "int x" is a value type, "y" doesn't hold a value directly, it "references" to "x" (a different location in memory).
Would
ybe considered a reference type?
No.
Reference type vs. value type is a property of the type itself, not any of the variables of that type. Type int is a value type; therefore, all variables of type int are variables of a value type.
In your particular scenario, once y is assigned the value of x, it gets a copy of that value, not a reference to it. The values of x and y could be assigned independently of each other. If you subsequently change x, the value of y would remain unchanged:
int x = 10; int y = x; x = 5; Console.WriteLine(y); // Prints 10 In contrast, variables of reference type "track" changes to the object that they reference:
StringBuilder x = new StringBuilder("Hello"); StringBuilder y = x; x.Append(", world"); Console.WriteLine(y); // Prints "Hello, world" 
I ask this because while "int x" is a value type, "y" doesn't hold a value directly, it "references" to "x" (a different location in memory).
y does not reference to x. For value types, the assignment (via the = operator) means to copy the value from the variable on the right side to the variable on the left side.
For reference types, it means to copy the reference.
ydoes hold a value - you just assigned it indirectly. An integer type can only contain integer values never another int variable