17.11. Classes and Objects: Class Methods

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Object-oriented programming is a programming paradigm that uses "objects" - data structures consisting of data fields and methods - to design applications and computer programs. Classes and objects are the two main aspects of object-oriented programming. A class is a template for creating objects. It defines a set of attributes that will characterize any object that is molded from it. An object is an instance of a class.

17.11 Classes and Objects: Class Methods

Class methods, also known as static methods, are methods that belong to the class itself and not to any specific object in the class. They are defined using the 'static' keyword. This means you can call a class method without creating an object of the class.

Class methods are often used to create utility functions. For example, a Math class might have a static method that calculates the square root. This method would belong to the Math class, not any specific object in the Math class.

Class methods can also be used to create object factories. An object factory is a method that returns a new object. For example, you might have a Car class with a 'createCar' class method that creates and returns a new Car object.

Class methods do not have access to any specific object attributes. They only have access to class attributes (which are attributes shared by all objects in the class).

To define a class method in Java, you would use the 'static' keyword. For example:

public class Mathematics {
    public static double squareroot(double num) {
        return Math.sqrt(num);
    }
}

To call this method, you would use the class name and method name, like this:

double root = Math.squareroot(25);

In Python, you use the '@staticmethod' decorator to create a class method. For example:

class Mathematics:
    @staticmethod
    def squareroot(num):
        return num ** 0.5

To call this method, you would also use the class name and method name, like this:

root = Mathematics.squareroot(25)

Class methods are an important part of object-oriented programming. They allow you to create utility functions and object factories, and can help organize your code more logically and effectively.

Understanding how and when to use class methods is a crucial skill for any programmer. Practice creating and using class methods in your preferred programming language to become more comfortable with this concept.

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5617.12. Classes and Objects: Method Overloading