As in taxonomy, the classifications of species, a class hierarchy in computer science is a classification of object types, denoting objects as the instantiations of classes (class is like a blueprint, the object is what is built from that blueprint) inter-relating the various classes by relationships such as inherits , extends , is an abstraction of , an interface definition .
The relationships are specified in the science of object oriented design and object interface standards defined by popular use, language designers (Java_programming_language, C_plus_plus,
Smalltalk) and standards committees for software design like the Object Management Group.
