The attributes are called instance variables , and the actions are called methods . Files containing your code can be found in Project Builder's Classes suitcase, as previously discussed. Your component code contains action methods . An action method is a method you associate with a user action-for instance, clicking a submit button or a hyperlink. Elements bound to a component action pass the action message to  the session object and on to the request component.
State is restored by the session object.
Elements bound to a direct action send their action message directly to the object that can handle it. Direct actions aren't required to use session objects and thus can be stateless. Your components can contain a mix of direct and component actions.