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In object-oriented programming, a class defines the shared aspects of objects created from the class. The capabilities of a class differ between programming languages , but generally the shared aspects consist of state ( variables ) and behavior ( methods ) that are each either associated with a particular object or with all objects of that class.
Objects are instances of a class. Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm based on the concept of objects, [1] which can contain data and code: data in the form of fields (often known as attributes or properties), and code in the form of procedures (often known as methods).
Individuals (instances) are the basic, "ground level" components of an ontology. The individuals in an ontology may include concrete objects such as people, animals, tables, automobiles, molecules, and planets, as well as abstract individuals such as numbers and words (although there are differences of opinion as to whether numbers and words are classes or individuals).
According to Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software: "Define an interface for creating an object, but let subclasses decide which class to instantiate. Factory method lets a class defer instantiation to subclasses." [2] Creating an object often requires complex processes not appropriate to include within a composing object.
A reference to an instance of a class may actually be referring to one of its subclasses. The actual class of the object being referenced is impossible to predict at compile-time. A uniform interface is used to invoke the member functions of objects of a number of different classes.
An object must be explicitly created based on a class and an object thus created is considered to be an instance of that class. An object is similar to a structure, with the addition of method pointers, member access control, and an implicit data member which locates instances of the class (i.e., objects of the class) in the class hierarchy ...
A language that supports creating an object from a class is classified as class-based. A language that supports object creation via a template object is classified as prototype-based. The concept of object is used in many different software contexts, including: Possibly the most common use is in-memory objects in a computer program written in ...
In object-oriented programming, a metaclass is a class whose instances are classes themselves. Unlike ordinary classes, which define the behaviors of objects, metaclasses specify the behaviors of classes and their instances. Not all object-oriented programming languages support the concept of metaclasses. For those that do, the extent of ...