<ul><li>Association is a basic and loose form of relationship; two objects know about each other, but are not strictly dependent.</li><li>Aggregation is a special case of association; objects represent a 'has-a' relationship, where one object contains a reference to another.</li><li>Association and aggregation allow objects to exist independently of each other.</li><li>In the context of a Student-University relationship, association allows for change of universities, while aggregation, in the case of departments and professors, allows for the existence of professors even if a department is removed.</li></ul>

Understanding the Difference between Association, Aggregation and Composition in Java

Discover more