Understanding Classes

Classes are important in object-oriented programming because they allow you to group related items as a unit as well as control their visibility and accessibility to other procedures. Classes also can inherit and reuse code defined in other classes.

In This Section

Classes - Blueprints for Objects
Provides an overview of encapsulation, inheritance, and shared members.
Classes vs. Standard Modules
Explains the differences between classes and standard modules.
Object Lifetime: How Objects Are Created and Destroyed
Discusses creating and disposing of class instances.
Using Constructors
Discusses how to initialize new instances of classes and dispose of resources when they are no longer needed.
Class Properties, Fields, and Methods
Explains the fields, properties, and methods that make up a class.

Related Sections

Creating and Using Objects
Demonstrates how to create and use instances of classes.
Inheritance
Describes how to define classes that serve as the basis for other classes.