SOM uses a more runtime oriented OOP model. That is, the exact function that is being called, or the size of the object may not be known until the code is executed. The above list is ordered by decreasing execution speed. The most flexible and time consuming resolution method uses the dispatch-function. This method allows methods to be called using application specific rules.
Classes are instances of metaclasses, and objects are instances of classes.
The metaclass contains all the class specific functions and data. The source code presented here will have the IBM disclaimers stripped, if you really want to read them, see the source code files. This code illustrates how to access instance data and class data. Now lets put this code to work. We briefly looked at some of the components of the SOMobjects Developers Toolkit.