Chapter 5. Creating Classes and Methods

If you’re coming to Java from another programming language, you might be struggling with the meaning of the term class. It seems synonymous to the term program, but you might be uncertain of the relationship between the two.

In Java, a program is made up of a main class and any other classes needed to support the main class. These support classes include any of those you might need in the Java class library, such as String, Math, and the like.

Today, the meaning of class is clarified as you create classes and methods, which define the behavior of an object or class. You undertake each of the following:

  • The definition of the parts of a class

  • The creation and use of instance variables

  • The creation and use of methods ...

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