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The table below illustrates the relationship between some of the terms used for object-oriented modelling and the terms used when implementing object models in a programming language like Java.
The careful use of terminology when referring to object concepts is important in representing and communicating the model and implementation of a system. However, since so many of the terms are closely related, and some encompass others (e.g. "state" encompasses the values of variables that implement object attributes), you will find programmers and programming text books often use terms in a way that leaves the reader to infer whether it is a model or an implementation being discussed. For example, a programmer might talk about an operation being executed when an object receives a message, whereas it is actually a method that is executed, the method being a sub-program that is the implementation of an operation. Since much of this module is about the implementation of object technology systems in the Java programming language, you will perhaps find it most important to understand the particular statements in the Java language that implement its version of object concepts (such as method , variable , class – these are introduced in the following units). However, in this, and later modules, the learning materials will present examples of object-oriented models, and so will use the modelling terms in their description. In reading more widely you will encounter other terms. Many such other terms are programming language specific. Other terms you may encounter include: member, field, function. If you move on to object-oriented programming with some other language, an important activity you'll need to undertake will be to learn the terminology of object technology for the new language.
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