[java] What exactly is an instance in Java?

"instance to an application" means nothing.

"object" and "instance" are the same thing. There is a "class" that defines structure, and instances of that class (obtained with new ClassName()). For example there is the class Car, and there are instance with different properties like mileage, max speed, horse-power, brand, etc.

Reference is, in the Java context, a variable* - it is something pointing to an object/instance. For example, String s = null; - s is a reference, that currently references no instance, but can reference an instance of the String class.

*Jon Skeet made a note about the difference between a variable and a reference. See his comment. It is an important distinction about how Java works when you invoke a method - pass-by-value.

The value of s is a reference. It's very important to distinguish between variables and values, and objects and references.

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