1.3. Objects

An object is a set of variables and functions that are associated with this set. By calling these functions (commonly referred to as methods) one automatically has access to all the variables of the set. That way, it is possible to create and manage several instances of objects of the same class.

In Perl, every class resides in its own namespace. Perl enables various associations to be performed on entire classes. For instance, one class can inherit one or more classes, and thus have access to all of their methods.

By making a set of perl functions into a class, it is possible to make sure they can be instantiated and re-used. Furthermore, this class can later be expanded into a more powerful class, by making another class inherit it.