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18.11: Glossary

  • Page ID
    42480
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    encode:
    To represent one set of values using another set of values by constructing a mapping between them.
    class attribute:
    An attribute associated with a class object. Class attributes are defined inside a class definition but outside any method.
    instance attribute:
    An attribute associated with an instance of a class.
    veneer:
    A method or function that provides a different interface to another function without doing much computation.
    inheritance:
    The ability to define a new class that is a modified version of a previously defined class.
    parent class:
    The class from which a child class inherits.
    child class:
    A new class created by inheriting from an existing class; also called a “subclass”.
    IS-A relationship:
    A relationship between a child class and its parent class.
    HAS-A relationship:
    A relationship between two classes where instances of one class contain references to instances of the other.
    dependency:
    A relationship between two classes where instances of one class use instances of the other class, but do not store them as attributes.
    class diagram:
    A diagram that shows the classes in a program and the relationships between them.
    multiplicity:
    A notation in a class diagram that shows, for a HAS-A relationship, how many references there are to instances of another class.
    data encapsulation:
    A program development plan that involves a prototype using global variables and a final version that makes the global variables into instance attributes.

    This page titled 18.11: Glossary is shared under a CC BY-NC 3.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Allen B. Downey (Green Tea Press) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.

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