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Instance variables are properties of that object. All instances of a class have their own copies of instance variables, even if the value is the same from one object to another. One class instance can change values of its instance variables without affecting all other instances. A class may have both instance variables and class variables.
For example, class Person might define variables "first_name" and "last_name" with method "make_full_name()". These will also be available in class Employee, which might add the variables "position" and "salary". It is guaranteed that all instances of class Employee will have the same variables, such as the name, position, and salary.
/*Ruby has three member variable types: class, class instance, and instance. */ class Dog # The class variable is defined within the class body with two at-signs # and describes data about all Dogs *and* their derived Dog breeds (if any) @@sniffs = true end mutt = Dog. new mutt. class. sniffs #=> true class Poodle < Dog # The "class instance variable" is defined within the class body with a ...
These are usually field types and names that will be associated with state variables at program run time; these state variables either belong to the class or specific instances of the class. In most languages, the structure defined by the class determines the layout of the memory used by its instances.
Python allows the creation of class methods and static methods via the use of the @classmethod and @staticmethod decorators. The first argument to a class method is the class object instead of the self-reference to the instance. A static method has no special first argument. Neither the instance, nor the class object is passed to a static method.
A class variable is not an instance variable. It is a special type of class attribute (or class property, field, or data member). The same dichotomy between instance and class members applies to methods ("member functions") as well; a class may have both instance methods and class methods.
In some languages, for example C++, Java, and Raku this or self is a keyword, and the variable automatically exists in instance methods. In others, for example, Python, Rust, and Perl 5, the first parameter of an instance method is such a reference. It needs to be specified explicitly.
Together this implies that a class in Smalltalk is an object and that, therefore a class needs to be an instance of a class (called metaclass). As an example, a car object c is an instance of the class Car. In turn, the class Car is again an object and as such an instance of the metaclass of Car called Car class. Note the blank in the name of ...