glossary_of_object-oriented_terms
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Glossary of object-oriented terms
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A
- Attribute (Class attributes) or Instance variables: the data components of a class are the class attributes should only be accessed by methods of the same class.
Abstraction
- Abstraction: classes should be defined as broadly as possible, and only find specifics through inheritance
B
C
- Class - a user-defined data type that encapsulates both data and the methods that act upon the data and is a template for the construction of objects
- Class declaration location: is located outside any other class declaration. It is possible to declare one class inside another class (inner class).
D
E
Encapsulation
- Encapsulation: the process of placing a data structure's data (see class attributes and data attributes) with the methods (actions) that act upon the data, inside the same module, called a class in Java.
- Separating and hiding functionality how-to from input-output. Objects are called to accomplish a tasks, we don’t care how they do it.
F
G
H
I
- Instantiate - Instantiated - Instantiating - Instantiator: The data components of a class are the class attributes (also called instance variables)
should only be accessed by methods of the same class.
Inheritance
- Inheritance - the process of using features (both class attributes and class actions) from an established higher class. The higher class is called the superclass or parent class. The lower class is called the subclass or child class.
J
K
L
M
- Method: A function defined in a class. See also instance method, class method. In Java, “unless specified otherwise, a method is not a static method.” (JSEgloss)
- Modularity: breaking an application into logical sub-parts, that are easier to code and maintain than a whole.
N
O
- Object or Instance: one instance of a class. A class is a type and an object is a variable. Cat is a class and Fluffy is an object or one instance of the Cat class. Objects can be discussed in a general sense, such as in object-oriented programming. This causes confusion between Object, the concept and object, the instance of a class. There is a tendency to use instance when referring to one variable example of a class to avoid confusion.
- overriding: redefining the functionality of a given parent method in the child class, by using the same method signature (method name and number of arguments). Final methods can’t be over-ridden: final function myfunc () {…}
P
Polymorphism
- polymorphism: calling the same method can have different results, depending upon the object type. Allows a single accessing feature, such as an
operator, method or class identifier, to have many forms.
Q
R
S
- superclass: or base class, another name for the parent class that inherits its class properties to any given child class.
Sources
External sites
- Glossary of object-oriented terms
glossary_of_object-oriented_terms.txt · Last modified: 2024/05/01 03:59 by 127.0.0.1