Object-based development is the programming thrust that determines object-oriented programming languages such as Java. As its name implies, object-based development focuses on an object. An object is defined as something that has the capacity to store information, manipulate its own information, and carry out some task when requested by another object to do so.

In object-based development, blocks of a program code, the objects, can be recognized and used based on their names, without the necessity of understanding how exactly the object works. Also, this development technique encourages code to be re-used, as long as it works in the context to which it is applied. In other words, an object of constant structure can participate in different functions.

Objects can be data-storing entities, such as a line of text or a database. Also, objects can be components of a software system, such as a user interface. The latter are known as processing objects. The power of object-based development is that such objects can be programmed to one another relatively easily to create functions. An object can be called for different functions at the same time. Thus, parallel programming, where programs can be running at the same time, is possible.

Object-based development also enables personalized responses to be tailored to user requests "on-the-fly". In fact, multi-user requests can be accommodated. This aspect of object-based development is attractive to businesses, who can design their web pages, particularly the catalog section, to be flexible to user order requests.

Another use of object-based development based software has been in the area of architectural design. Software programs, such as AutoCAD, have made it possible to obtain three-dimensional like, interactive, "walk-through" images of the modeled program (such as a house). The increased realism that can be achieved enhances the creative energies of the architect.

Object-based development, while currently popular, has been a programming tool since the early 1980s. Then, the dBASE data management system was created. The dBASE format for storing data has since become the de facto standard, and is supported by most database management and spreadsheet systems. Examples of software based on the object-based development approach have included WebObjects (NeXT), Oracle8 (Oracle), ActiveX and Visual Basic (Microsoft), and Java Sun Microsystems).