Objects and Classes
An object is a combination of code and data that can be treated as a unit. An object can be a piece of an application, like a control or a form. An entire application can also be an object.
Reusing Code
Objects let you declare variables and procedures once and then reuse them whenever needed. For example, if you want to add a spelling checker to an application you could define all the variables and support functions to provide spell-checking functionality. If you create your spelling checker as a class, you can then reuse it in other applications by adding a reference to the compiled assembly. Better yet, you may be able to save yourself some work by using a spelling checker class that someone else has already developed.
Classes
Each object in Visual Basic is defined by a class. A class describes the variables, properties, procedures, and events of an object. Objects are instances of classes; you can create as many objects you need once you have defined a class.
To understand the relationship between an object and its class, think of cookie cutters and cookies. The cookie cutter is the class. It defines the characteristics of each cookie, for example size and shape. The class is used to create objects. The objects are the cookies.
Two examples in Visual Basic might help illustrate the relationship between classes and objects.
The controls on the Toolbox in Visual Basic represent classes. When you drag a control from the Toolbox onto a form, you are creating an object — an instance of a class.
The form you work with at design time is a class. At run time, Visual Basic creates an instance of the form's class — that is, an object.
Multiple Instances
Objects newly created from a class are often identical to each other. Once they exist as individual objects, however, their variables and properties can be changed independently of the other instances. For example, if you add three check boxes to a form, each check box object is an instance of the CheckBox class. The individual CheckBox objects share a common set of characteristics and capabilities (properties, variables, procedures, and events) defined by the class. However, each has its own name, can be separately enabled and disabled, and can be placed in a different location on the form.
See Also
Concepts
Introduction to Objects in Visual Basic