Object (computer science): Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Software abstraction with state, behavior, and identity}}

In [[software development]], an '''object''' is an [[entity]] that has [[State (computer science)|state]], [[behavior]], and [[Identity (object-oriented programming)|identity]].
<ref name="ooa">{{cite book|title=Object-Oriented Analysis and Design with Applications |edition=3 |date=April 30, 2007 |author1=Grady Booch |author2=Robert Maksimchuk |author3=Michael Engle |author4=Bobbi Young |author5=Jim Conallen |author6=Kelli Houston |isbn=978-0201895513 |publisher= Addison-Wesley Professional}}</ref>
<ref name="Why Natural Scientists Should Care
About Object-Oriented Technology">http://www.literateprogramming.com/quantumoo.pdf</ref>
{{rp|78}} An object can [[model]] some part of [[reality]] or can be an [[invention]] of the [[design process]] whose collaborations with other such objects serve as the mechanisms that provide some higher-level behavior. Put another way, an object represents an individual, identifiable item, unit, or entity, either real or abstract, with a well-defined role in the problem ___domain.<ref name="ooa"></ref>{{rp|76}}

A [[programming language]] can be classified based on its support for objects. A language that provides an encapsulation construct for state, behavior, and identity is classified as [[object-based language|object-based]]. If the language also provides [[polymorphism (computer science)|polymorphism]] and [[inheritance (object-oriented programming)|inheritance]] it is classified as [[Object-oriented programming|object-oriented]]. A language that supports creating an object from a [[class (computer science)|class]] is classified as [[class-based programming|class-based]]. A language that supports object creation via a template object is classified as [[prototype-based programming|prototype-based]].

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* [[Distributed object|Objects]] of a [[distributed computing]] system tend to be larger grained, longer lasting, and more service-oriented than programming objects.

In purely object-oriented programming languages, such as [[Java]] and [[C Sharp (programming language)|C#]], all classes might be part of an inheritance tree such that the root class is <code>Object</code>, meaning all objects instances of <code>Object</code> or implicitly extend <code>Object</code>.

==See also==