Class (computer Programming)
In object-oriented programming, a class is a construct that is used to create instances of itself – referred to as class instances, class objects, instance objects or simply objects. A class defines constituent members which enable its instances to have state and behavior. Data field members (member variables or instance variables) enable a class instance to maintain state. Other kinds of members, especially methods, enable the behavior of class instances. Classes define the type of their instances.
A class usually represents a noun, such as a person, place or thing, or something nominalized. For example, a "Banana" class would represent the properties and functionality of bananas in general. A single, particular banana would be an instance of the "Banana" class, an object of the type "Banana".
Read more about Class (computer Programming): Design and Implementation, Inter-class Relationships, Taxonomy of Classes, Benefits, Run-time Representation
Famous quotes containing the word class:
“The Americans never use the word peasant, because they have no idea of the class which that term denotes; the ignorance of more remote ages, the simplicity of rural life, and the rusticity of the villager have not been preserved among them; and they are alike unacquainted with the virtues, the vices, the coarse habits, and the simple graces of an early stage of civilization.”
—Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859)