Difference between Instance, Object and reference

[Atul Sawant]

Can someone please let us know what is the difference between object, instance and reference?

[Naseem Khan]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object_(computer_science)

[Naina Si]

Object is an instance of a Class. You can create many instances of a class (Objects of that particular Class type)

You can refer to objects using references.

[Karun Subramanian]

Hi !

Object = Instance of a Class.
Instance = Object
Reference = A variable that holds bit patern which points to the Object in the Memory (Heap).

Example:

public class Car {
int year;
String make;
public static void main(String[] args) {
Car mycar = new Car(); // Create a Car object.
// Here mycar = Reference variable that points to the Object of type Car
}
}