This document introduces the concepts of classes and objects in Java. It defines a class as a template that introduces a new type into the system and defines an object as an instance of a class. The key points covered include:
- Objects are created from classes using the new operator.
- Objects contain fields to store data and methods to manipulate the data.
- When passing primitive data types to methods, the value is passed but when passing objects, the reference is passed.
- Methods determine the messages an object can receive including name, arguments, return type and body.