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I'm confused on what meaning of Data Object is. Is it the place in memory? Is it the variable or the value of the variable? I've looked on line and found nothing (to me) comprehensible.

EDIT

Here's a link which uses it in the context I'm referring to: http://v.web.umkc.edu/vm63a/441p2p2.htm

It seems to just mean some kind of variable -- whether that's a struct, int, an object in an OOPL. But I remember reading something that described a data object as something "containing" a variable -- which made me think it was the place carved out in memory for the data object, possibly in addition to the computer-language data held there. But IDK

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  • What context are you seeing it used in? Can you use it in a sentence? What are you having trouble understanding about existing definitions?
    – Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007
    Apr 17, 2014 at 18:30
  • I've just come across it in quite a few programming books. It definitely has to do with variables. I think I've seen them in both Java and C books -- to say, not necessarily an OO thing
    – BWONG
    Apr 17, 2014 at 18:32
  • Give us an example of the context you're seeing it in, so we can attempt to explain it to you in that context. :)
    – Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007
    Apr 17, 2014 at 18:53
  • @techie007 edited my question with an example of the context
    – BWONG
    Apr 17, 2014 at 19:10
  • Updated my answer. :)
    – Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007
    Apr 17, 2014 at 20:03

3 Answers 3

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In this context, a "data object" is a unit of information being manipulated by a program. So if a problem tracks students and their classes, a structure representing all the information about a particular student would be a "data object".

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It's a pretty vague term and can change based on the context in question, but basically it's an Object that represents and/or abstracts and/or encapsulates a set of Data.

More info:

IBM - What Is a Data Object? (DB context)

Data objects ... represent an object view of related tables.

MS - DataObject Class (MS .Net context)

defines a format-independent mechanism for transferring data

After reading th example you gave for context we need to clarify something.

There are Object-Based languages, and then there is Object-Oriented programming. The procedural language you are reading about there is an Object-based language, but doesnt' fully support OO programming. Meaning it allows "objects" to be created, but OO-specific stuff (like polymorphism) doesn't exist.

Having said that, my original statement still stands, but I'll add a bit to it.

A "Data Object" is an object that encapsulates both the data itself (in object properties, similar to "variables", in that they are a memory segment defined as a certain data type (string, integer, object, etc.), as well as the methods (procedures) for accessing said data (in an abstract way).

From a page back from your provided context page:

Object-based languages merge the two together by encapsulating the procedures and the data together in an object.

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  • Yeah, when I looked around online, most of the answers had to do with DBs, but the contexts in which I came across this term had more to do with variables in procedural programming.
    – BWONG
    Apr 17, 2014 at 18:47
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A data object is a kind of storage that contains a value or group of values. Every value can be accessed using its identifier or a more complex expression that refers to the object. Additionally, each and every object may have different data types.

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