Title: Key Concept - Object Class
Course: CPS 189: Java Certification - Review, Practice & Prepare (Development) > Section: Learning Modules

The Object class is a direct or indirect superclass of every other class.

Every class inherits the following methods from the Object class:

- clone() creates and returns a copy of the object. To use the method, the class or a superclass must implement the Cloneable interface.
- equals (Object obj) tests whether two objects are equal. The default behavior of equals is to test whether the two object references are equal (point to the same object).
- finalize() is called when the object no longer has references to it and is eligible for garbage collection.
- getClass() returns information about the object. It may not be overridden.
- hashCode() returns the object's memory address in hexadecimal.
- toString() returns a string representation of the object.

For additional study, view the resources under Level 1 Study Materials: Unit 1.