What is Object Oriented Programming (OOP)? Why is it so important for us?

What is Object Oriented Programming (OOP)?

Object Oriented Programming (OOP) is an approach to software development that is supported by many programming languages. The basic idea of OOP is to model the real world into computer programs and organise these programs through objects and classes. This makes software development processes more organised and understandable.

The basic concepts of OOP are as follows:

  1. Class: A class is a template of objects with similar properties and behaviour. For example, a class "Car" can represent many different car objects.
  2. Object: An object is an instance of a class. So, an object derived from the class "Car" represents a specific car.
  3. Inheritance: In OOP, it is important that a class can inherit properties and behaviour from another class. This increases code reusability and reduces code repetition.
  4. Polymorphism: Polymorphism means that objects of the same class can exhibit different behaviours. This can handle objects derived from different classes in the same way, and this makes the code more flexible.
  5. Encapsulation: Encapsulation allows hiding the intrinsic properties and behaviour of a class from other classes. This helps make the code safer and easier to maintain.

Why is it so important for us?

OOP makes software development processes more effective and efficient. Here are some reasons that explain why OOP is so important to us:

  1. Modularity: OOP encourages breaking the code into smaller and independent modules. This makes the code easier to understand, test and maintain.
  2. Reusability: Classes and objects allow code to be reusable. You can easily use a class or object in other projects or sections.
  3. Ease of Maintenance: OOP makes it easy to maintain and update the code. When making internal changes to a class, it reduces the possibility of affecting other classes.
  4. Teamwork: OOP allows the software development team to collaborate in a better way. The definition of classes and objects facilitates the division of labour between different developers.
  5. Real World Modelling: OOP helps to better model real world problems. Many applications and systems become better understood and manageable through objects and their relationships.

As a result, Object Oriented Programming (OOP) is a powerful tool that makes software development processes more effective, sustainable and flexible. Therefore, understanding and using OOP is important for a software developer.

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