Embedded Object

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What Does Embedded Object Mean?

An embedded object is an object which is created separately and then placed into another object or program. Embedded objects are self-contained and they can work independently. These objects are embedded to work in combination with other objects or programs. Embedded objects are designed to store physically inside the compound object with all the information required to manage it. Embedded objects are not like links, where the linked object is stored separately.

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Techopedia Explains Embedded Object

In general, an embedded object is a part of the parent object/program where it resides. It retains its uniqueness and it can be managed or modified with the original program. Embedding makes the parent object larger, as it contains the entire embedded object. Any change made to the embedded object source code does not automatically reflect in the compound object. Therefore, the embedded object residing in the parent object must be updated with the latest version of the embedded object. In the case of links, any change in the source object reflects automatically as the source object is placed in one location.

Embedded objects have some advantages, such as the ability to be easily transferred to a different location with the parent object, whereas links would break. Embedded objects can be modified without changing the original source code. Some examples of embedded objects include movie clips in a word processor document or animated objects in an HTML page.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology Specialist
Margaret Rouse
Technology Specialist

Margaret is an award-winning writer and educator known for her ability to explain complex technical topics to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles in the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret’s idea of ​​a fun day is to help IT and business professionals to learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.