Definition: An object is the basic building block of object-oriented programming. Programmers developing a system model create object classes to represent each component of a system. Those generic classes are then used to create specific instances of each object for use in the program. Objects may interact with each other through the use of methods.
Examples:
In an object-oriented personnel database, there might be a generic object class called "Employee." Administrators may then create specific instances of that object for individual employees, such as "Bill Jones" and "Mary Evans." Users may then interact with those objects using methods. For example, HR personnel might use the increase_salary(x) method to increase an employee's salary by $X. Mary would be given a $500 raise by invoking "Mary Evans"->increase_salary(500).
