18.11: Glossary
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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.