Written by the Fiveable Content Team โข Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 examโขWritten by the Fiveable Content Team โข Last updated September 2025
Definition
A constructor is a special method within a class that is used to initialize objects of that class. It is called automatically when an object is created and helps set initial values for its attributes.
A class is a blueprint or template for creating objects in object-oriented programming. Constructors belong to classes and define how objects of that class should be initialized.
Instance variables: Instance variables are attributes or properties associated with each instance (object) of a class. Constructors often assign initial values to these instance variables.
Constructor overloading allows multiple constructors within the same class, but with different parameter lists. This provides flexibility in creating objects with varying initialization options.