Class-based programming, or more commonly class-orientation, refers to the style of object-oriented programming in which inheritance is achieved by defining classes of objects, as opposed to the objects themselves (compare prototype-based programming).
The most popular and developed model of OOP is a class-based model, as opposed to an object-based model. In this model, objects are entities that combine state (i.e., data), behavior (i.e., procedures, or methods) and identity (unique existence among all other objects). The structure and behavior of an object are defined by a class, which is a definition, or blueprint, of all objects of a specific type. 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. actual objects of that class) in the class hierarchy (essential for runtime inheritance features).
Read more about Class-based Programming: Encapsulation, Inheritance, Critique of Class-based Models, Example Languages
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