In object-oriented analysis, what does an object belong to?

In object-oriented analysis, an object is an instance of a class. The concept of a class acts as a blueprint for creating objects. A class defines the properties (attributes) and behaviors (methods) that its objects will have, essentially serving as a template. Thus, each object created from a class will inherit the characteristics defined by that class, but can also contain additional specific data. This relationship is fundamental to object-oriented programming, emphasizing the organization and structure of code around real-world entities.

Understanding that an object belongs to a class is crucial for grasping how object-oriented design promotes modularity and reusability in software development. Each time an object is instantiated, it is closely tied to the class from which it is derived, making classes central to the organization of data and functionality in object-oriented systems.