Aug-30-2020, 03:59 PM
I don't think you understand class and instance. A class is a description or definition of a thing. An instance is the thing. So a Machine is both a class and and instance. The class Machine describes how the machine works and how it is constructed, but it is not a machine that can do things. To have a machine that can do thing you need to create an instance of the Machine class.
Things like length and color and the like are attributes. If they are the same for every machine they are class attributes. If they are different for different machines they are instance attributes.
Physical or not physical had nothing to do with class/instance. You can make classes that describe non-physical things like processes and procedures and operations, and then make instances of these that can execute the process or implement the procedure. To stay with you Machine analogy you could have a CNC Program class that knows how to read a CMC program and send commands to the machine. It is quite common for such a thing to be implemented as a class, and to make an instance of this class that is part of your machine controller.
Things like length and color and the like are attributes. If they are the same for every machine they are class attributes. If they are different for different machines they are instance attributes.
Physical or not physical had nothing to do with class/instance. You can make classes that describe non-physical things like processes and procedures and operations, and then make instances of these that can execute the process or implement the procedure. To stay with you Machine analogy you could have a CNC Program class that knows how to read a CMC program and send commands to the machine. It is quite common for such a thing to be implemented as a class, and to make an instance of this class that is part of your machine controller.