Editing Method (computer programming) (section)

==Special methods==
Special methods are very language-specific and a language may support none, some, or all of the special methods defined here. A language's compiler may automatically generate default special methods or a programmer may be allowed to optionally define special methods. Most special methods cannot be directly called, but rather the compiler generates code to call them at appropriate times.

===Static methods===
{{see also|Static member function}}
Static methods are meant to be relevant to all the instances of a class rather than to any specific instance. They are similar to [[static variable]]s in that sense. An example would be a static method to sum the values of all the variables of every instance of a class. For example, if there were a <code>Product</code> class it might have a static method to compute the average price of all products.

A static method can be invoked even if no instances of the class exist yet. Static methods are called "static" because they are resolved at [[compile time]] based on the class they are called on and not dynamically as in the case with instance methods, which are resolved polymorphically based on the runtime type of the object.

====Examples====
=====In Java=====
In Java, a commonly used static method is:
 Math.max(double a, double b)
This static method has no owning object and does not run on an instance. It receives all information from its arguments.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title = Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship|last = Martin|first = Robert C.|publisher = Prentice Hall|year = 2009|isbn = 978-0-13-235088-4|pages = 296|author-link = Robert Cecil Martin}}</ref>

===Copy-assignment operators===
Copy-assignment operators define actions to be performed by the compiler when a class object is assigned to a class object of the same type.

===Operator methods===
Operator methods [[Operator overloading|define or redefine operator symbols]] and define the operations to be performed with the symbol and the associated method parameters. C++ example:
<syntaxhighlight lang="cpp">
#include <string>

class Data {
 public:
  bool operator<(const Data& data) const { return roll_ < data.roll_; }
  bool operator==(const Data& data) const {
    return name_ == data.name_ && roll_ == data.roll_;
  }

 private:
  std::string name_;
  int roll_;
};
</syntaxhighlight>