A value object is like a special kind of toy. Imagine you have a toy car. The toy car looks like a real car and you can play with it by pushing it around. But the toy car is not a real car. It doesn't have an engine, it can't drive on the road, and you can't sit inside it. It's just a toy.
Similar to the toy car, a value object is something that represents something else but it's not the real thing. It's just a way to describe or store information about the real thing. It's not meant to be changed or modified once it is created, just like you cannot change a toy car into a real car.
Let's say you have a toy car that is blue in color and has four wheels. You can use another toy car that looks exactly the same to represent the same kind of car, and it will also be blue and have four wheels. So, both toy cars have the same value, or in other words, they represent the same thing.
In programming, a value object is used to store and manage information about something in the same way. It is created to hold certain values or data. For example, imagine we have a value object called "Person". This object could store information like the person's name, age, and height. These are just the values that describe a person, but not the actual person.
Value objects are special because they are meant to be immutable. This means that once we create a value object with certain values, we cannot change those values. It's similar to not being able to change the color or shape of the toy car once it's made.
This is useful because value objects can be shared and used in different parts of a program without worrying that they will be changed accidentally. Just like you can share your toy car with your friends and they can play with it, but they can't change the car's color or shape.
So, to recap, a value object is like a special toy that represents something else. It's used to store and manage information about that thing. It cannot be changed once it's created, just like you can't change a toy car. And it's useful because it can be shared and used in different parts of a program without worrying about changes.