In object-oriented analysis, what are characteristics called?

In the context of object-oriented analysis, characteristics of an object are commonly referred to as attributes or properties. These terms describe the data or qualities that an object possesses, which help define its state.

Attributes are essential because they hold the information necessary for an object to function and represent real-world entities. For example, if you have a class called "Car," its attributes might include "color," "make," "model," and "year." Each of these attributes provides specific information about the instance of the object.

While inheritances, methods, and properties are also important concepts within object-oriented programming, they do not represent the characteristics of the object itself. Inheritance refers to the mechanism by which one class can inherit properties and behaviors from another, facilitating code reusability. Methods are functions defined within a class that describe the behaviors or actions that the objects of that class can perform.

Properties are often used interchangeably with attributes, particularly in some programming languages, but in the context of the question, they do not directly apply in a broader sense as "characteristics" than the term attributes. Therefore, attributes would be the correct terminology to describe characteristics in object-oriented analysis.