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Method - Dictionary Definition and Overview |
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Method : (noun)
1: a way of doing something, especially a systematic way;
implies an orderly logical arrangement (usually in steps)
Based on WordNet 2.0
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Method : \Meth"od\, n. [F. m['e]thode, L. methodus, fr. Gr.
meqodos method, investigation following after; meta` after _
"odo`s way.]
1. An orderly procedure or process; regular manner of doing
anything; hence, manner; way; mode; as, a method of
teaching languages; a method of improving the mind.
--Addison.
2. Orderly arrangement, elucidation, development, or
classification; clear and lucid exhibition; systematic
arrangement peculiar to an individual.
Though this be madness, yet there's method in it.
--Shak.
All method is a rational progress, a progress toward
an end. --Sir W.
Hamilton.
3. (Nat. Hist.) Classification; a mode or system of
classifying natural objects according to certain common
characteristics; as, the method of Theophrastus; the
method of Ray; the Linn[ae]an method.
Syn: Order; system; rule; regularity; way; manner; mode;
course; process; means.
Usage: Method, Mode, Manner. Method implies
arrangement; mode, mere action or existence. Method is
a way of reaching a given end by a series of acts
which tend to sec?re it; mode relates to a single
action, or to the form which a series of acts, viewed
as a whole, exhibits. Manner is literally the handling
of a thing, and has a wider sense, embracing both
method and mode. An instructor may adopt a good method
of teaching to write; the scholar may acquire a bad
mode of holding his pen; the manner in which he is
corrected will greatly affect his success or failure.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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METHOD. The mode of operating or the means of attaining an object.
2. It has been questioned whether theMethod : of making a thing can be
patented. But it has been considered that a method or mode may be the
subject of a patent, because, when the object of two patents or effects to
be produced is essentially the same, they may both be valid, if the modes of
attaining the desired effect are essentially different. Dav. Pat. Cas. 290;
2 B. & Ald. 350; 2 H. Bl. 492; 8 T. R. 106; 4 Burr. 2397; Gods. on Pat. 85;
Perpigna, Manuel des Inventeurs, &c., c. 1, sect. 5, Sec. 1, p. 22.
Based on Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [Bouvier_Law_Dictionary]:
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Method :
The name given in Smalltalk and other
object-oriented languages to a procedure or routine
associated with one or more classes. An object of a
certain class knows how to perform actions, e.g. printing
itself or creating a new instance of itself, rather than the
function (e.g. printing) knowing how to handle different types
of object.
Different classes may define methods with the same name
(i.e. methods may be polymorphic). The term "method" is used
both for a named operation, e.g. "PRINT" and also for the code
which a specific class provides to perform tha
t operation.
Most methods operate on objects that are instances of a
certain class. Some object-oriented languages call these
"object methods" to distinguish then from "{class methods".
In Smalltalk, a method is defined by giving its name,
documentation, temporary local variables and a sequence of
expressions separated by "."s.
(2000-03-22)
Based on Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [Bouvier_Law_Dictionary]:
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