One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that supports cross-component references in an object-oriented programming system. During operation, the system makes a first attempt to obtain a name for a referenced object through a cross-component reference between a referencing object and the referenced object. This first attempt involves attempting to obtain the name for the referenced object from the referenced object, which involves attempting access the referenced object through an identifier for the referenced object within the cross-component reference. If this first attempt fails, the system makes a second attempt to obtain the name for the referenced object, which involves obtaining a pathname for the referenced object from the cross-component reference.