Do I correctly understand what a class is?

Question

I\'ve had trouble finding a clear, concise laymans definition of a class. Usually, they give general ideas without specifically spelling it out, and I\'m wondering if I\'m u

Answer 1

In object-oriented programming, a class is a type for objects. An object is a bundle of data together with functionality that can operate in the context of that data; the definition of what the object is and does when it is first created is determined by its class.

Like a type for data, the class of an object specifies what is common to all instances of that class. Instances, which are the objects themselves, then get to override that common baseline (otherwise there's not much point having distinct instances). In many OO systems, instances may or may not have new members that are not part of the class definition.

What that means in the context of a specific object-oriented language is going to differ from language to language. But if you think of classes as types, and build on that, you won't go far wrong.