Has-a

In database design, object-oriented programming and design (see object oriented program architecture), has-a (has_a or has a) is a composition relationship where one object (often called the constituted object, or part/constituent/member object) "belongs to" (is part or member of) another object (called the composite type), and behaves according to the rules of ownership. In simple words, has-a relationship in an object is called a member field of an object. Multiple has-a relationships will combine to form a possessive hierarchy.

This is to be contrasted with an is-a (is_a or is a) relationship which constitutes a taxonomic hierarchy (subtyping).

The decision whether the most logical relationship for an object and its subordinate is not always clearly has-a or is-a. Confusion over such decisions have necessitated the creation of these metalinguistic terms. A good example of the has-a relationship is containers in the C++ STL.

To summarize the relations, we have