Class Members & Multiple Objects

Class Members & Multiple Objects

Fields and methods that belong to a class are called its members.

Fields and methods

A class can hold fields (data) and methods (behavior):

class Car
{
  string color = "red";
  int maxSpeed = 200;

  public void fullThrottle()
  {
    Console.WriteLine("The car is going as fast as it can!");
  }

  static void Main(string[] args)
  {
    Car myObj = new Car();
    Console.WriteLine(myObj.color);       // red
    Console.WriteLine(myObj.maxSpeed);    // 200
    myObj.fullThrottle();
  }
}

Accessing members

Use dot notation - object.member:

myObj.color
myObj.fullThrottle()

Multiple objects

You can create as many objects as you need, and each keeps its own copy of the fields:

class Car
{
  string color = "red";

  static void Main(string[] args)
  {
    Car myObj1 = new Car();
    Car myObj2 = new Car();
    Console.WriteLine(myObj1.color);   // red
    Console.WriteLine(myObj2.color);   // red
  }
}

The public keyword

public makes a member accessible from other classes. Members without public are private by default - you'll learn more about access modifiers soon.

TL;DR

• Fields hold data; methods define behavior.
• Use dot notation: object.member.
• Every object has its own copy of the fields.
• public opens members to other classes.