Instance (computer science)
Encyclopedia
In object-oriented programming
an instance is an occurrence or a copy of an object
, whether currently executing or not. Instances of a class share the same set of attributes, yet will typically differ in what those attributes contain.
For example, a class "Employee" would describe the attributes common to all instances of the Employee class. For the purposes of the task being solved Employee objects may be generally alike, but vary in such attributes as "name" and "salary". The description of the class would itemize such attributes and define the operations or actions relevant for the class, such as "increase salary" or "change telephone number." One could then talk about one instance of the Employee object with name = "Jane Doe" and another instance of the Employee object with name = "John Doe".
Object-oriented programming
Object-oriented programming is a programming paradigm using "objects" – data structures consisting of data fields and methods together with their interactions – to design applications and computer programs. Programming techniques may include features such as data abstraction,...
an instance is an occurrence or a copy of an object
Object (computer science)
In computer science, an object is any entity that can be manipulated by the commands of a programming language, such as a value, variable, function, or data structure...
, whether currently executing or not. Instances of a class share the same set of attributes, yet will typically differ in what those attributes contain.
For example, a class "Employee" would describe the attributes common to all instances of the Employee class. For the purposes of the task being solved Employee objects may be generally alike, but vary in such attributes as "name" and "salary". The description of the class would itemize such attributes and define the operations or actions relevant for the class, such as "increase salary" or "change telephone number." One could then talk about one instance of the Employee object with name = "Jane Doe" and another instance of the Employee object with name = "John Doe".