Validity range

The two terms lifetime and scope must be explicitly distinguished from each other in object-oriented programming languages.

In addition to the creation, the handling of an object also includes the declaration of an identifier that is associated with the object; the object definition is thus composed of the declaration of an identifier, possibly with type information, and the creation of the object. In object-oriented programming languages, for example, objects are identified by variables or formal parameters that hold the generated object. In the validity area of their identifier, the object can be reached by this identifier. The validity area is thus a static, i.e. a property dependent on the program text, and designates the part of the program in which exactly this object can be used under its identifier and the same meaning.

The block-structured object-oriented programming languages distinguish different types of object definition, such as those of automatic objects and application-controlled objects, which affect the scope and lifetime of the object.