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Concept
Object (computer science)
Summary
In computer science, an object can be a variable, a data structure, a function, or a method. As regions of memory, objects contain a value and are referenced by identifiers.
In the object-oriented programming paradigm, an object can be a combination of variables, functions, and data structures; in particular in class-based variations of the paradigm, an object refers to a particular instance of a class.
In the relational model of database management, an object can be a table or column, or an association between data and a database entity (such as relating a person's age to a specific person).
Object-based languages
An important distinction in programming languages is the difference between an object-oriented language and an object-based language. A language is usually considered object-based if it includes the basic capabilities for an object: identity, properties, and attributes. A language is considered object-oriented if it is object-based and also has the capability of polymorphism, inheritance, encapsulation, and, possibly, composition. Polymorphism refers to the ability to overload the name of a function with multiple behaviors based on which object(s) are passed to it. Conventional message passing discriminates only on the first object and considers that to be "sending a message" to that object. However, some object-oriented programming languages such as Flavors and the Common Lisp Object System (CLOS) enable discriminating on more than the first parameter of the function. Inheritance is the ability to subclass an object class, to create a new class that is a subclass of an existing one and inherits all the data constraints and behaviors of its parents but also adds new and/or changes one or more of them.
Object-oriented programming
Object-oriented programming is an approach to designing modular reusable software systems. The object-oriented approach is an evolution of good design practices that go back to the very beginning of computer programming.
Official source
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