Technology Fundamentals
Object
Definition
An object is a data structure that contains data in the form of key-value pairs. The keys are typically strings (also called properties or attributes), and the values can be any data type, including other objects.
Why It Matters
Objects are incredibly versatile and are used to model real-world entities and complex data structures. They are a cornerstone of object-oriented and other programming paradigms.
Contextual Example
A `user` object in an application might look like this: `{ "name": "Alice", "age": 30, "isVerified": true }`. You can access the data using the keys, like `user.name`.
Common Misunderstandings
- In Object-Oriented Programming, an object is a specific instance of a class.
- The term can be used more generally in languages like JavaScript to refer to any collection of key-value pairs.