This is a list of terms found in

object-oriented programming Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm based on the concept of "objects", which can contain data and code. The data is in the form of fields (often known as attributes or ''properties''), and the code is in the form of pr ...

. Some are related to object-oriented programming and some are not.

A

Abstract class In programming languages, an abstract type is a type in a nominative type system that cannot be instantiated directly; a type that is not abstract – which ''can'' be instantiated – is called a ''concrete type''. Every instance of an abstrac ...

Accessibility Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...

Abstract method A method in object-oriented programming (OOP) is a Procedure (computer science), procedure associated with a Message passing, message and an Object (computer science), object. An object consists of ''state data'' and ''behavior''; these compose an ...

Abstraction (computer science) In software engineering and computer science, abstraction is: * The process of removing or generalizing physical, spatial, or temporal details or attributes in the study of objects or systems to focus attention on details of greater importance; ...

Access control In the fields of physical security and information security, access control (AC) is the selective restriction of access to a place or other resource, while access management describes the process. The act of ''accessing'' may mean consuming ...

Access modifiers Access modifiers (or access specifiers) are keywords in object-oriented languages that set the accessibility of classes, methods, and other members. Access modifiers are a specific part of programming language syntax used to facilitate the enca ...

Accessor method In computer science, a mutator method is a method used to control changes to a variable. They are also widely known as setter methods. Often a setter is accompanied by a getter (together also known as accessors), which returns the value of the priva ...

Adapter pattern In software engineering, the adapter pattern is a software design pattern (also known as wrapper, an alternative naming shared with the decorator pattern) that allows the interface of an existing class to be used as another interface. It is often ...

Aspect-oriented In computing, aspect-oriented programming (AOP) is a programming paradigm that aims to increase modularity by allowing the separation of cross-cutting concerns. It does so by adding behavior to existing code (an advice) ''without'' modifying th ...

B

Bridge pattern The bridge pattern is a design pattern used in software engineering that is meant to ''"decouple an abstraction from its implementation so that the two can vary independently"'', introduced by the Gang of Four. The ''bridge'' uses encapsulation, a ...

Builder pattern The builder pattern is a design pattern designed to provide a flexible solution to various object creation problems in object-oriented programming. The intent of the Builder design pattern is to separate the construction of a complex object from it ...

Base class In object-oriented programming, inheritance is the mechanism of basing an object or class upon another object ( prototype-based inheritance) or class ( class-based inheritance), retaining similar implementation. Also defined as deriving new classe ...

C

Cast Cast may refer to: Music * Cast (band), an English alternative rock band * Cast (Mexican band), a progressive Mexican rock band * The Cast, a Scottish musical duo: Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis * ''Cast'', a 2012 album by Trespassers William * ...

Chain-of-responsibility pattern In object-oriented design, the chain-of-responsibility pattern is a behavioral design pattern consisting of a source of command objects and a series of processing objects. Each processing object contains logic that defines the types of command obj ...

Class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

Class hierarchy A class hierarchy or inheritance tree in computer science is a classification of object types, denoting objects as the instantiations of classes (class is like a blueprint, the object is what is built from that blueprint) inter-relating the vario ...

Class method A method in object-oriented programming (OOP) is a procedure associated with a message and an object. An object consists of ''state data'' and ''behavior''; these compose an ''interface'', which specifies how the object may be utilized by any of ...

* Class object *

Class variable In class-based, object-oriented programming, a class variable is a variable defined in a class of which a single copy exists, regardless of how many instances of the class exist. A class variable is not an instance variable. It is a special typ ...

* Cohesion *

Collection class In computer science, a container is a class or a data structureEntry ''data structure'' in the Encyclopædia Britannica (2009Online entryAccessed 4 Oct 2011. whose instances are collections of other objects. In other words, they store objects ...

Composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

Constructor Constructor may refer to: Science and technology * Constructor (object-oriented programming), object-organizing method * Constructors (Formula One), person or group who builds the chassis of a car in auto racing, especially Formula One * Construc ...

Container (abstract data type) In computer science, a container is a class or a data structureEntry ''data structure'' in the Encyclopædia Britannica (2009Online entryAccessed 4 Oct 2011. whose instances are collections of other objects. In other words, they store objects i ...

* Contravariance *

Copy constructor In class-based, object-oriented programming, a constructor (abbreviation: ctor) is a special type of subroutine called to create an object. It prepares the new object for use, often accepting arguments that the constructor uses to set required ...

Coupling A coupling is a device used to connect two shafts together at their ends for the purpose of transmitting power. The primary purpose of couplings is to join two pieces of rotating equipment while permitting some degree of misalignment or end mov ...

Covariance In probability theory and statistics, covariance is a measure of the joint variability of two random variables. If the greater values of one variable mainly correspond with the greater values of the other variable, and the same holds for the les ...

D

Data-driven design Responsibility-driven design is a design technique in object-oriented programming, which improves encapsulation by using the client–server model. It focuses on the contract by considering the actions that the object is responsible for and the in ...

* Data hiding *

Default constructor In computer programming languages, the term default constructor can refer to a constructor that is automatically generated by the compiler in the absence of any programmer-defined constructors (e.g. in Java), and is usually a nullary constructor. I ...

Deep copy In object-oriented programming, object copying is creating a copy of an existing object, a unit of data in object-oriented programming. The resulting object is called an ''object copy'' or simply ''copy'' of the original object. Copying is basic but ...

Delegation Delegation is the assignment of authority to another person (normally from a manager to a subordinate) to carry out specific activities. It is the process of distributing and entrusting work to another person,Schermerhorn, J., Davidson, P., Poole ...

* Dependency injection * Destructor *

Dispatch table In computer science, a dispatch table is a table of pointers or memory addresses to functions or methods. Use of such a table is a common technique when implementing late binding in object-oriented programming. Perl implementation The followin ...

*Dynamic binding, also called

Late binding In computing, late binding or dynamic linkage—though not an identical process to Dynamic linker, dynamically linking imported code Library (computing), libraries—is a computer programming mechanism in which the Method (computer programming), ...

Dynamic dispatch In computer science, dynamic dispatch is the process of selecting which implementation of a polymorphic operation (method or function) to call at run time. It is commonly employed in, and considered a prime characteristic of, object-oriented ...

Dynamically typed language In computer programming, a type system is a logical system comprising a set of rules that assigns a property called a type (computer science), type to every "term" (a word, phrase, or other set of symbols). Usually the terms are various constru ...

E

Early binding In object-oriented programming, inheritance is the mechanism of basing an Object (computer science), object or Class (computer programming), class upon another object (Prototype-based programming, prototype-based inheritance) or class (Class-based ...

* Eigenclass *

Encapsulation (computer programming) In software systems, encapsulation refers to the bundling of data with the mechanisms or methods that operate on the data, or the limiting of direct access to some data, such as an object's components. Encapsulation allows developers to present a c ...

European Conference on Object-Oriented Programming The European Conference on Object-Oriented Programming (ECOOP), is an annual conference covering topics on object-oriented programming systems, languages and applications. Like other conferences, ECOOP offers various tracks and many simultaneous ...

Exception handling In computing and computer programming, exception handling is the process of responding to the occurrence of ''exceptions'' – anomalous or exceptional conditions requiring special processing – during the execution of a program. In general, an ...

Extension Extension, extend or extended may refer to: Mathematics Logic or set theory * Axiom of extensionality * Extensible cardinal * Extension (model theory) * Extension (predicate logic), the set of tuples of values that satisfy the predicate * E ...

F

* Facade - pattern *

Factory method pattern In class-based programming, the factory method pattern is a creational pattern that uses factory methods to deal with the problem of creating objects without having to specify the exact class of the object that will be created. This is done by cr ...

Factory object In object-oriented programming, a factory is an object (computer science), object for object creation, creating other objects; formally, it is a Subroutine, function or Method (computer programming), method that returns objects of a varying prot ...

Factory pattern In object-oriented programming, a factory is an object for creating other objects; formally, it is a function or method that returns objects of a varying prototype or class from some method call, which is assumed to be "new". More broadly, a su ...

Field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

Finalizer In computer science, a finalizer or finalize method is a special method that performs finalization, generally some form of cleanup. A finalizer is executed during object destruction, prior to the object being deallocated, and is complementary to ...

First-class function In computer science, a programming language is said to have first-class functions if it treats functions as first-class citizens. This means the language supports passing functions as arguments to other functions, returning them as the values from ...

Fragile base class The fragile base class problem is a fundamental architectural problem of object-oriented programming systems where base classes ( superclasses) are considered "fragile" because seemingly safe modifications to a base class, when inherited by the ...

Function composition In mathematics, function composition is an operation that takes two functions and , and produces a function such that . In this operation, the function is applied to the result of applying the function to . That is, the functions and ...

G

Generic programming Generic programming is a style of computer programming in which algorithms are written in terms of types ''to-be-specified-later'' that are then ''instantiated'' when needed for specific types provided as parameters. This approach, pioneered b ...

God object In object-oriented programming, a god object (sometimes also called an omniscient or all-knowing object) is an object that references a large number of distinct types, has too many unrelated or uncategorized methods, or some combination of both ...

H

Heap-based memory allocation Memory management is a form of resource management applied to computer memory. The essential requirement of memory management is to provide ways to dynamically allocate portions of memory to programs at their request, and free it for reuse when ...

Helper class In object-oriented programming, a helper class is used to assist in providing some functionality, which isn't the main goal of the application or class in which it is used . An instance of a helper class is called a helper object (for example, in t ...

* Hybrid language

I

Immutable object In object-oriented and functional programming, an immutable object (unchangeable object) is an object whose state cannot be modified after it is created.Goetz et al. ''Java Concurrency in Practice''. Addison Wesley Professional, 2006, Section 3.4 ...

(also called immutable value) *

Information hiding In computer science, information hiding is the principle of segregation of the ''design decisions'' in a computer program that are most likely to change, thus protecting other parts of the program from extensive modification if the design decisio ...

Inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, Title (property), titles, debts, entitlements, Privilege (law), privileges, rights, and Law of obligations, obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ ...

* Initialize *

Inline function In the C and C++ programming languages, an inline function is one qualified with the keyword inline; this serves two purposes: # It serves as a compiler directive that suggests (but does not require) that the compiler substitute the body of th ...

Inner class In object-oriented programming (OOP), an inner class or nested class is a class declared entirely within the body of another class or interface. It is distinguished from a subclass. Overview An instance of a normal or top-level class can exist on ...

Instance (computer science) In a computer system, any time a new context is created based on some model, it is said that the model has been instantiated. In practice, this instance usually has a data structure in common with other instances, but the values stored in the inst ...

Instance method A method in object-oriented programming (OOP) is a procedure associated with a message and an object. An object consists of ''state data'' and ''behavior''; these compose an ''interface'', which specifies how the object may be utilized by any of ...

Instance variable In class-based, object-oriented programming, an instance variable is a variable defined in a class (i.e. a member variable), for which each instantiated object of the class has a separate copy, or instance. An instance variable has similarities ...

(also called data member) *

Interaction diagram The Unified Modeling Language (UML) is a general-purpose, developmental modeling language in the field of software engineering that is intended to provide a standard way to visualize the design of a system. The creation of UML was originally m ...

Interface Interface or interfacing may refer to: Academic journals * ''Interface'' (journal), by the Electrochemical Society * ''Interface, Journal of Applied Linguistics'', now merged with ''ITL International Journal of Applied Linguistics'' * '' Inte ...

Inversion of control In software engineering, inversion of control (IoC) is a design pattern in which custom-written portions of a computer program receive the flow of control from a generic framework. A software architecture with this design inverts control as compa ...

(IoC) *

Iterator In computer programming, an iterator is an object that enables a programmer to traverse a container, particularly lists. Various types of iterators are often provided via a container's interface. Though the interface and semantics of a given iterat ...

L

Liskov substitution principle The Liskov substitution principle (LSP) is a particular definition of a subtyping relation, called strong behavioral subtyping, that was initially introduced by Barbara Liskov in a 1988 conference keynote address titled ''Data abstraction and h ...

M

Member accessibility In object-oriented programming, a class is an extensible program-code-template for creating objects, providing initial values for state (member variables) and implementations of behavior (member functions or methods). In many languages, the class n ...

*Members, any contents of a class:

Attributes Attribute may refer to: * Attribute (philosophy), an extrinsic property of an object * Attribute (research), a characteristic of an object * Grammatical modifier, in natural languages * Attribute (computing), a specification that defines a proper ...

Method Method ( grc, μέθοδος, methodos) literally means a pursuit of knowledge, investigation, mode of prosecuting such inquiry, or system. In recent centuries it more often means a prescribed process for completing a task. It may refer to: *Scien ...

s, and

es *

Message passing In computer science, message passing is a technique for invoking behavior (i.e., running a program) on a computer. The invoking program sends a message to a process (which may be an actor or object) and relies on that process and its supporting i ...

Metaclass In object-oriented programming, a metaclass is a class whose instances are classes. Just as an ordinary class defines the behavior of certain objects, a metaclass defines the behavior of certain classes and their instances. Not all object-oriente ...

Metaprogramming Metaprogramming is a programming technique in which computer programs have the ability to treat other programs as their data. It means that a program can be designed to read, generate, analyze or transform other programs, and even modify itself ...

Method (computer programming) A method in object-oriented programming (OOP) is a procedure associated with a message and an object. An object consists of ''state data'' and ''behavior''; these compose an ''interface'', which specifies how the object may be utilized by any of ...

Mixin In object-oriented programming languages, a mixin (or mix-in) is a class that contains methods for use by other classes without having to be the parent class of those other classes. How those other classes gain access to the mixin's methods depend ...

Mock object In object-oriented programming, mock objects are simulated objects that mimic the behaviour of real objects in controlled ways, most often as part of a software testing initiative. A programmer typically creates a mock object to test the behaviou ...

Model–view–controller Model–view–controller (MVC) is a software architectural pattern commonly used for developing user interfaces that divide the related program logic into three interconnected elements. This is done to separate internal representations of infor ...

(MVC) *

Modular programming Modular programming is a software design technique that emphasizes separating the functionality of a program into independent, interchangeable modules, such that each contains everything necessary to execute only one aspect of the desired function ...

Multiple dispatch Multiple dispatch or multimethods is a feature of some programming languages in which a function or method can be dynamically dispatched based on the run-time (dynamic) type or, in the more general case, some other attribute of more than one of ...

Multiple inheritance Multiple inheritance is a feature of some object-oriented computer programming languages in which an object or class can inherit features from more than one parent object or parent class. It is distinct from single inheritance, where an object or ...

Multitier architecture In software engineering, multitier architecture (often referred to as ''n''-tier architecture) is a client–server architecture in which presentation, application processing and data management functions are physically separated. The most wide ...

* Mutable variable *

Mutator method In computer science, a mutator method is a method used to control changes to a variable. They are also widely known as setter methods. Often a setter is accompanied by a getter (together also known as accessors), which returns the value of the priva ...

N

Name mangling In compiler construction, name mangling (also called name decoration) is a technique used to solve various problems caused by the need to resolve unique names for programming entities in many modern programming languages. It provides a way of e ...

Namespace In computing, a namespace is a set of signs (''names'') that are used to identify and refer to objects of various kinds. A namespace ensures that all of a given set of objects have unique names so that they can be easily identified. Namespaces ...

* Native method *

Nested class In object-oriented programming (OOP), an inner class or nested class is a class declared entirely within the body of another class or interface. It is distinguished from a subclass. Overview An instance of a normal or top-level class can exist on ...

O

Object (computer science) In computer science, an object can be a variable, a data structure, a function, or a method. As regions of memory, they contain value and are referenced by identifiers. In the object-oriented programming paradigm, ''object'' can be a combination ...

Object type In computer science, boxing (a.k.a. wrapping) is the transformation of placing a primitive type within an object so that the value can be used as a reference. Unboxing is the reverse transformation of extracting the primitive value from its wrap ...

OOPSLA OOPSLA (Object-Oriented Programming, Systems, Languages & Applications) is an annual ACM research conference. OOPSLA mainly takes place in the United States, while the sister conference of OOPSLA, ECOOP, is typically held in Europe. It is opera ...

– annual conference on Object-Oriented Programming, Systems, Languages, and Applications * Open/closed principle *

Orthogonality In mathematics, orthogonality is the generalization of the geometric notion of ''perpendicularity''. By extension, orthogonality is also used to refer to the separation of specific features of a system. The term also has specialized meanings in ...

* Overload

P

* Package * Parametric overloading * Parameterized classes * Parnas's principles *

Partial class In object-oriented programming, a class is an extensible program-code-template for creating objects, providing initial values for state (member variables) and implementations of behavior (member functions or methods). In many languages, the class n ...

Patterns A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated l ...

Policy-based design ''Modern C++ Design: Generic Programming and Design Patterns Applied'' is a book written by Andrei Alexandrescu, published in 2001 by Addison-Wesley. It has been regarded as "one of the most important C++ books" by Scott Meyers. The book makes u ...

* Polymorphic *

Primitive data type In computer science, primitive data types are a set of basic data types from which all other data types are constructed. Specifically it often refers to the limited set of data representations in use by a particular processor, which all compiled pr ...

*, a way of encapsulation in

Programming paradigm Programming paradigms are a way to classify programming languages based on their features. Languages can be classified into multiple paradigms. Some paradigms are concerned mainly with implications for the execution model of the language, suc ...

*, a way of encapsulation in

Protocol Protocol may refer to: Sociology and politics * Protocol (politics), a formal agreement between nation states * Protocol (diplomacy), the etiquette of diplomacy and affairs of state * Etiquette, a code of personal behavior Science and technology ...

Prototype pattern The prototype pattern is a creational design pattern (computer science), design pattern in software development. It is used when the type of object (computer science), objects to create is determined by a prototype, prototypical instance (compute ...

Prototype-based programming Prototype-based programming is a style of object-oriented programming in which behaviour reuse (known as inheritance) is performed via a process of reusing existing objects that serve as prototypes. This model can also be known as ''prototypal'' ...

*{{Cpp, public, a way of encapsulation in

* Pure polymorphism * Pure virtual function (also called pure virtual method)

R

Rapid application development Rapid application development (RAD), also called rapid application building (RAB), is both a general term for adaptive software development approaches, and the name for James Martin's method of rapid development. In general, RAD approaches to ...

(sometimes

Rapid prototyping Rapid prototyping is a group of techniques used to quickly fabricate a scale model of a physical part or assembly using three-dimensional computer aided design (CAD) data. Construction of the part or assembly is usually done using 3D printin ...

) *

Recursion Recursion (adjective: ''recursive'') occurs when a thing is defined in terms of itself or of its type. Recursion is used in a variety of disciplines ranging from linguistics to logic. The most common application of recursion is in mathematics ...

Refinement Refinement may refer to: Mathematics * Equilibrium refinement, the identification of actualized equilibria in game theory * Refinement of an equivalence relation, in mathematics ** Refinement (topology), the refinement of an open cover in mathem ...

Reflection Reflection or reflexion may refer to: Science and technology * Reflection (physics), a common wave phenomenon ** Specular reflection, reflection from a smooth surface *** Mirror image, a reflection in a mirror or in water ** Signal reflection, in s ...

Responsibility-driven design Responsibility-driven design is a design technique in object-oriented programming, which improves encapsulation by using the client–server model. It focuses on the contract by considering the actions that the object is responsible for and the in ...

* Reverse polymorphism *

Run-time type information In computer programming, run-time type information or run-time type identification (RTTI) is a feature of some programming languages (such as C++, Object Pascal, and Ada) that exposes information about an object's data type at runtime. Run-time typ ...

S

Scope Scope or scopes may refer to: People with the surname * Jamie Scope (born 1986), English footballer * John T. Scopes (1900–1970), central figure in the Scopes Trial regarding the teaching of evolution Arts, media, and entertainment * Cinem ...

Shallow copy In object-oriented programming, object copying is creating a copy of an existing object, a unit of data in object-oriented programming. The resulting object is called an ''object copy'' or simply ''copy'' of the original object. Copying is basic bu ...

, as opposed to ''deep copy'' *

Single responsibility principle The single-responsibility principle (SRP) is a computer programming principle that states that "A module should be responsible to one, and only one, actor." The term actor refers to a group (consisting of one or more stakeholders or users) that ...

Singleton pattern In software engineering, the singleton pattern is a software design pattern that restricts the instantiation of a class to a singular instance. One of the well-known "Gang of Four" design patterns, which describe how to solve recurring problems ...

Singly rooted hierarchy The singly rooted hierarchy, in object-oriented programming, is a characteristic of most (but not all) OOP-based programming languages. In most such languages, in fact, all classes inherit directly or indirectly from a single root, usually with a ...

* Slicing * Specification class, a class implementing

abstract class In programming languages, an abstract type is a type in a nominative type system that cannot be instantiated directly; a type that is not abstract – which ''can'' be instantiated – is called a ''concrete type''. Every instance of an abstrac ...

Stack-based memory allocation Stack (abstract data type)#Hardware_stack, Stacks in computing architectures are regions of memory (computers), memory where data is added or removed in a LIFO (computing), last-in-first-out (LIFO) manner. In most modern computer systems, each ...

Static method A method in object-oriented programming (OOP) is a procedure associated with a message and an object. An object consists of ''state data'' and ''behavior''; these compose an ''interface'', which specifies how the object may be utilized by any of ...

* Statically typed language, as opposed to Dynamically typed language *

Strongly-typed programming language In computer programming, one of the many ways that programming languages are colloquially classified is whether the language's type system makes it strongly typed or weakly typed (loosely typed). However, there is no precise technical definition o ...

* Subclass (also called child class or derived class) * Subclass coupling *

SOLID Solid is one of the State of matter#Four fundamental states, four fundamental states of matter (the others being liquid, gas, and Plasma (physics), plasma). The molecules in a solid are closely packed together and contain the least amount o ...

Substitutability The Liskov substitution principle (LSP) is a particular definition of a subtyping relation, called strong behavioral subtyping, that was initially introduced by Barbara Liskov in a 1988 conference keynote address titled ''Data abstraction and hi ...

, principle of *

Subtype Subtype may refer to: * Viral subtypes, such as Subtypes of HIV * Subtyping In programming language theory, subtyping (also subtype polymorphism or inclusion polymorphism) is a form of type polymorphism in which a subtype is a datatype that is ...

* Superclass (also called parent class or base class)

T

* Tiers *

Template method pattern In object-oriented programming, the template method is one of the behavioral design patterns identified by Gamma et al. in the book ''Design Patterns''. The template method is a method in a superclass, usually an abstract superclass, and defines ...

Test-driven development Test-driven development (TDD) is a software development process relying on software requirements being converted to test cases before software is fully developed, and tracking all software development by repeatedly testing the software against al ...

* Trait * Type *

Type conversion In computer science, type conversion, type casting, type coercion, and type juggling are different ways of changing an expression from one data type to another. An example would be the conversion of an integer value into a floating point value ...

(also called ''typecasting'')

V

Virtual class In object-oriented programming, a virtual base class is a nested inner class whose functions and member variables can be overridden and redefined by subclasses of an outer class. Virtual classes are analogous to virtual functions. The run time ty ...

Virtual function In object-oriented programming, in languages such as C++, and Object Pascal, a virtual function or virtual method is an inheritable and overridable function or method for which dynamic dispatch is facilitated. This concept is an important part o ...

(also called virtual method) *

Virtual function pointer In computer programming, a virtual method table (VMT), virtual function table, virtual call table, dispatch table, vtable, or vftable is a mechanism used in a programming language to support dynamic dispatch (or run-time method binding). When ...

(also called virtual method pointer) *

Virtual inheritance Virtual inheritance is a C++ technique that ensures only one copy of a base classs member variables are inherited by grandchild derived classes. Without virtual inheritance, if two classes B and C inherit from a class A, and a class D inherits fr ...

(Object Oriented Programming) *

Virtual method table In computer programming, a virtual method table (VMT), virtual function table, virtual call table, dispatch table, vtable, or vftable is a mechanism used in a programming language to support dynamic dispatch (or run-time method binding). When ...

(also called vtable, virtual function table or virtual method table) * Viscosity (programming) *

Void type The void type, in several programming languages derived from C and Algol68, is the return type of a function that returns normally, but does not provide a result value to its caller. Usually such functions are called for their side effects, su ...

W

Weak reference In computer programming, a weak reference is a reference that does not protect the referenced object from collection by a garbage collector, unlike a strong reference. An object referenced ''only'' by weak references – meaning "every chain of ref ...

Y

Yo-yo problem In software development, the yo-yo problem is an anti-pattern that occurs when a programmer has to read and understand a program whose inheritance graph is so long and complicated that the programmer has to keep flipping between many different cla ...

List Object-oriented programming terms