What is the difference between instance and static methods?

What is the difference between instance and static methods?

Instance methods are called on an instance of a class, while static methods are called on the class itself.

Can you give me an example of each?

Sure! An instance method might be a method that calculates the area of a rectangle based on its width and height, while a static method could be one that returns the number of instances created from the class.

When would I use a static method instead of an instance method?

You'd use a static method when the method doesn't need to access instance-specific data, like utility functions.

Are there any performance differences between the two?

Generally, static methods can be slightly faster since they don't require an instance to be created, but the difference is often negligible.