In
software development
Software development is the process of designing and Implementation, implementing a software solution to Computer user satisfaction, satisfy a User (computing), user. The process is more encompassing than Computer programming, programming, wri ...
, an object is an
entity
An entity is something that Existence, exists as itself. It does not need to be of material existence. In particular, abstractions and legal fictions are usually regarded as entities. In general, there is also no presumption that an entity is Lif ...
that has
state,
behavior
Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions of Individual, individuals, organisms, systems or Artificial intelligence, artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or or ...
, and
identity.
An object can
model some part of
reality
Reality is the sum or aggregate of everything in existence; everything that is not imagination, imaginary. Different Culture, cultures and Academic discipline, academic disciplines conceptualize it in various ways.
Philosophical questions abo ...
or can be an
invention
An invention is a unique or novelty (patent), novel machine, device, Method_(patent), method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It m ...
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.
A
programming language
A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs.
Programming languages are described in terms of their Syntax (programming languages), syntax (form) and semantics (computer science), semantics (meaning), usually def ...
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. If the language also provides
polymorphism and
inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...
it is classified as
object-oriented. 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
A computer program is a sequence or set of instructions in a programming language for a computer to Execution (computing), execute. It is one component of software, which also includes software documentation, documentation and other intangibl ...
written in an object-based language.
*
Information systems can be
modeled with objects representing their components and interfaces.
* In the
relational model of
database
In computing, a database is an organized collection of data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, applications, and the database itself to capture and a ...
management, aspects such as
table and
column may act as objects.
*
Objects of a
distributed computing system tend to be larger grained, longer lasting, and more service-oriented than programming objects.
See also
*
*
*
*
*
*
References
External links
''What Is an Object?''from ''The Java Tutorials''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Object (computer science)
Object-oriented programming
Data types
Composite data types