What is the difference between an Instance and an Object?

by

The Instance and Object are from Object Oriented Programming.

For some programming languages like Java, C++, and Smalltalk, it is important to describe and understand code. In other languages that used in Structured Programming, this concept doesn’t exist.

This is a view from Structural Programming. There’s no real significant difference that should consume too much of your time. There might be some fancy language that some people might take up a lot of spaces to write about, but at the end of the day, as far as a coder, developer, programmer, architect, is concerned, an instance of a class and an object mean the same thing and can often be used interchangeably. I have never met anyone in my career that would be picky and spend a half-hour trying to point out the differences because there’s really none. Time can be better spent on other development efforts.

UPDATE With regards to Swift, this is what Apple who invented Swift prefers :

An instance of a class is traditionally known as an object. However,
Swift classes and structures are much closer in functionality than in
other languages, and much of this chapter describes functionality that
can apply to instances of either a class or a structure type. Because
of this, the more general term instance is used.

More Related Contents:

  1. What is the difference between loose coupling and tight coupling in the object oriented paradigm?
  2. What exactly is an instance in Java?
  3. What is an abstract data type in object oriented programming?
  4. How do i get an object from another class in java
  5. Implement a coin jar in C# [closed]
  6. What is an example of the Liskov Substitution Principle?
  7. What is polymorphism, what is it for, and how is it used?
  8. Can we instantiate an abstract class?
  9. Difference between abstraction and encapsulation?
  10. What is the best method to merge two PHP objects?
  11. Difference between object and instance
  12. Is it possible to access struct fields from within a trait?
  13. Does functional programming replace GoF design patterns?
  14. What is the difference between identity and equality in OOP?
  15. What is the definition of “interface” in object oriented programming
  16. What is the scope of the Single Responsibility Principle? [closed]
  17. How much work should be done in a constructor?
  18. When to use mixins and when to use interfaces in Dart?
  19. Why “private” methods in the object oriented?
  20. What is the meaning and reasoning behind the Open/Closed Principle?
  21. What is the purpose of Serialization in Java?
  22. Difference Between Object Type and Reference Type
  23. Doctrine2 ORM does not save changes to a DateTime field
  24. What is the real difference between “Bastard Injection” and “Poor Man’s Injection”
  25. Difference between value parameter and reference parameter?
  26. Differences between Proxy and Decorator Pattern
  27. A use for multiple inheritance?
  28. What is immutability and why should I worry about it?
  29. adapter-Any real example of Adapter Pattern [closed]
  30. Is it possible to extend a default method implementation of a trait in a struct?

Leave a Comment