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1.1.4 Objects

An object in LPC is simply a copy of an existing and loaded program in computer memory. When a program is loaded into memory to produce a master object, the code is compiled to produce the instruction list described earlier and a chunk of memory is associated to it as specified by the program code for use for internal global variables (described later). When a copy, a clone of this program is made, a special reference called an object pointer is created. That pointer is given a reference to the master code instruction list and a unique chunk of memory. If you clone the object another time, a new pointer is created and a new chunk of memory allocated. When an object is destroyed its associated memory is freed for use by other objects, but the instruction list is kept untouched. An object is always cloned from the master object. If you want to change the program you must update the master object to instruct the gamedriver that a new list of instructions is to be compiled from the source code.

However, any already existing clones will not change just because the master does. They will keep their reference to the old instruction list. It's important that you remember this so that you don't believe that the behaviour of an old cloned object changes just because you have updated the master object. As you see it's possible to have clones of objects in the game that behave differently, simply because they are made out of different source codes, just cloned between updates and changes in code. This could be a great source of confusion, so keep it in mind.