Instantiated Meaning: Definition, Examples, and Translations
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instantiated
[ษชnหstรฆntieษชtษชd ]
Definition
computer science
Instantiated refers to the act of creating a particular instance of an object or class in programming. When a class is instantiated, a specific object is created from that class definition in memory. This enables the use of the defined attributes and methods associated with that class.
Synonyms
created, generated, initialized.
Examples of usage
- The class was instantiated to create an object.
- When you instantiate an object, you're allocating memory for it.
- The program successfully instantiated multiple copies of the object.
- An error occurred when trying to instantiate the class.
Translations
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Origin of 'instantiated'
The term 'instantiate' is derived from the Latin word 'instantia', meaning 'a standing in place' or 'a presence'. It is formed by combining the prefix 'in-' meaning 'into' and 'stant-', which comes from 'stare' meaning 'to stand'. The modern use of 'instantiate' began in computer science and software engineering in the mid-20th century, reflecting the need to describe the process of creating specific instances of abstract data types. The term has grown in popularity with the advent of object-oriented programming languages, where defining and instantiating objects is a core concept. The evolution of this term highlights the increasing complexity and abstraction in programming languages.