Methods? Classes? Objects?

Question

Well, I just started my Java Class here at Cal Poly Poly Pomona, and im afraid that im a little lost :(
What is confusing me is the Terms "class", "object" and "method". Their paticular meaning was never really explained thuroughly enough, and I dont have class till Wednesday. Could someone, please, in simple terms, explain to me what each of these are, and how they are related? (or at least point me to a place that can help me ^_^
Thank you!!
-Pete

Answer 1

Start with methods. Methods are the same as Functions if you know C++. If not, methods are basically a framework for carrying out something....you can either pass variables into it, or you can not.
example: calculating area.
public int area_calc(int length, int width)
     int area; //variable to store area;
     area = length * width;
     return area;
}You would implement this by doing something like:
System.out.println(area_calc(5, 4));which would yield a result of 20.
Next, is classes. Classes are definiable data types. You can add variables and methods to them, and then create objects of that type......Dont worry too much about class defining yet. Just know that youre always making some sort of class when you make any program.
Objects are just instances of classes etc.
If you had a class called candy, you could create an object called my_candy which would be a variable called my_candy, that has all of the variables and methods of the candy class.
Hope I didnt confuse you.