Editing WoW:Object-oriented programming (section)

==== Instantiation and Construction ====
A class is constructed typically by a function. This provides a single point of creation which is very modular. Typically this function is called "new," though it is not required. First, the function must create a blank table. Then, it must imbue the table with the properties of the class. This may be functions, variables, or other contents which the class must store. the following example shows a simplistic class which creates a Character instance, which stores only the name of the character.

   Character = {};
   function Character:new()
      local self = {};         -- Create a blank table
      self.name = "Unknown";   -- Make a name variable in the class
      return self;             -- Return the instance
   end

We can now create multiple instances of the class very quickly:

   local player1 = Character:new(); -- Create a Character
   local player2 = Character:new(); -- Create another
   player1.name = UnitName("player");
   player2.name = UnitName("target");

We will discuss later why the name "self" is logical for this table we create, but it can actually be any name of your choosing. It is, however, typically seen as "self" because it has logical connections to the syntax used in functions, as will be discussed later.