Beginning C# 2008 Objects: From Concept to Code

4.2. Declaring Methods

Let's talk in a bit more detail about how we specify an object's behaviors. Recall from Chapter 3 that an object's methods may be thought of as operations that the object can perform. In order for an object A to request some operation of an object B, A needs to know the specific language with which to communicate with B. That is:

• Object A needs to be clear as to exactly which of B's methods/operations A wants B to perform. Think of yourself as object A and a pet dog as object B. Do you want your dog to sit? Stay? Heel? Fetch?

• Depending on the method request, object A may need to give B some additional information so that B knows exactly how to proceed. If you tell your dog to fetch, the dog needs to know what to fetch: ...