This chapter explained C# constructs for classes and object orientation in C#. Its coverage included a discussion of declaring fields and how to access them on a class instance.

This chapter also discussed the key decision of whether to store data on a per-instance basis or across all instances of a type. Static data is associated with the class, whereas instance data is stored on each object.

In addition, the chapter explored encapsulation in the context of access modifiers for methods and data. The C# construct of properties was introduced, and you saw how to use it to encapsulate private fields.

The next chapter focuses on how to associate classes with each other via inheritance and explores the benefits derived from this object-oriented construct.