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method

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Acronyms, Idioms, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.04 sec.

In object technology, a method is the processing that an object performs. When a message is sent to an object, the method is implemented. See object-oriented programming.

(programming)method - The name given in Smalltalk and other object-oriented languages to a procedure or routine associated with one or more classes. An object of a certain class knows how to perform actions, e.g. printing itself or creating a new instance of itself, rather than the function (e.g. printing) knowing how to handle different types of object.

Different classes may define methods with the same name (i.e. methods may be polymorphic). The term "method" is used both for a named operation, e.g. "PRINT" and also for the code which a specific class provides to perform tha t operation.

Most methods operate on objects that are instances of a certain class. Some object-oriented languages call these "object methods" to distinguish then from "class methods".

In Smalltalk, a method is defined by giving its name, documentation, temporary local variables and a sequence of expressions separated by "."s.
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And doubtless the method is little changed, for there is nothing new under the sun, especially at schools.
Tom Brown's Schooldays by Hughes, Thomas View in context
I mean those species which are distinguished each from each by one and the same method of division.
The Categories by Aristotle View in context
None the less we Russians often need money; wherefore, we are glad of, and greatly devoted to, a method of acquisition like roulette--whereby, in a couple of hours, one may grow rich without doing any work.
The Gambler by Dostoyevsky, Fyodor View in context
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