Chapter 2 Definitions
Field: Stores data for an object to use.
Instance Variable: Another name for fields.
Constructor: Allows each object to be set up properly when it is first created.
Method: Consists of two parts, a header and a body.
Method Signature: The fourth line in a method.
Method Body: What the method will actually do.
Parameter: The way in which both constructors and methods receive values is via their parameters.
Accessor: Return information to the caller about the state of an object.
Mutator: Methods that change the state of their objects.
Declaration: Define what happens inside an object when that method is called.
Initialization: Responsible to put each object of that class into a fit state to be used once it is created.
Block: A pair of matching curling brackets.
Statement: Defines what happens inside an object when that method is called.
Assignment Statement: Store the value represented by the right-hand side of the statement in the variable named on the left.
Conditional Statement: takes one of two possible actions based upon the result of a test.
Return Statement: Responsible for returning information in the method’s signature.
Return Type: Defines what kind of information is returned.
Comment: An added line of text for the benefit of human readers of the class definition.
Expression: Things that compute values.
Operator: A symbol that initiates something, Example +=.
Variable: An amount.
Local Variable: A variable declared and used within a single method.
Scope: defines the section of source code from where the variable can be accessed.
Lifetime: how long the variable exists before it is destroyed.
