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This section is mainly for reference, so you don't have to understand
all of it right away. The terminology is mainly Smalltalk-inspired. In
short:
- class
-
a data structure definition with some extras.
- object
-
an instance of the data structure described by the class definition.
- instance variables
-
fields of the data structure.
- selector
-
(or method selector) a word (e.g.,
draw
) for performing an operation on a variety of data
structures (classes). A selector describes what operation to
perform. In C++ terminology: a (pure) virtual function.
- method
-
the concrete definition that performs the operation
described by the selector for a specific class. A method specifies
how the operation is performed for a specific class.
- selector invocation
-
a call of a selector. One argument of the call (the TOS (top-of-stack))
is used for determining which method is used. In Smalltalk terminology:
a message (consisting of the selector and the other arguments) is sent
to the object.
- receiving object
-
the object used for determining the method executed by a selector
invocation. In our model it is the object that is on the TOS when the
selector is invoked. (Receiving comes from Smalltalks
message terminology.)
- child class
-
a class that has (inherits) all properties (instance variables,
selectors, methods) from a parent class. In Smalltalk
terminology: The subclass inherits from the superclass. In C++
terminology: The derived class inherits from the base class.
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