Object vs Reference in Java

Question

In Java, if I declare,

MyClass obj;

Is obj called a \"reference\" or an \"object\". I am not instantiating class here.

Answer 1

Sometimes you'll hear people say "Design an method that takes an object as a parameter and..."

If you're new to programming, and especially with Java, such statements can lead to some confusion. These people are using the word "object" to refer to an instance of a class in very general OOP terms, not necessarily Java specific.

When we're talking specifics about Java and the code you have there, it is a reference to an instance of MyClass, which is NULL.