Special Edition Using Java 2 Standard Edition

Classes in Java

As stated at the beginning of this chapter, classes are the building block in an object-oriented language such as Java. In fact, Java, unlike C++, goes so far as to make it impossible to define any variables or methods outside a class. Everything you do in Java is based on designing and implementing classes.

The Java Platform Java itself is built from classes that are made available to the public in the SDK. These classes, known as the Java platform, provide a powerful set of common functionality typically found only in third-party add-ons to other languages. Although there are some limitations, a large number of the classes that make up the Java platform can themselves be extended. By doing this, you can tailor the classes in ...