Object Oriented Programming - Research Paper Example

Object Oriented Programming Object oriented programming (OOP) refers to a form of programming style or paradigm whose foundation is the representation of the programming concepts as objects. In OOP, the represented objects have specific data fields such as rows and columns in the design of databases (Ramsin and Richard 27). These fields are used in OPP as characteristics of an object that is presented through a programming language with object oriented attributes. In addition, objects within object oriented programming are represented via specified methods or procedures which are used to ensure that these objects are orderly and consistent depending on the purpose of the design or programming (Hadar and Uri 41). When programmers design computer software or computer applications, they achieve this by methods which cause objects to relate or interact with one another. Each object in this form of interaction is referred to as an instance of a particular class of objects. In object oriented programming, objects are those instances that are used to represent concepts. For example, the names Ruth, Jackie, Alice and Monica can be represented as objects in the design of a program for students in a girls’ school. On the other hand, classes in OOP represent concepts. For example “Girl” is a class within which the aforementioned objects fall. This illustrates that a class is used to capture the properties that are shared by objects in the process of object oriented programming. Therefore, classes are normally instantiated from the objects that are represented by a program design. In OOP, classes are visible within the source code of the program and this code is normally not duplicated (Ramsin and Richard 32). On the other hand, objects play the role of activating a program that is currently running as a result they occupy memory locations. Furthermore, a set of operations as presented within the class are owned by objects which means that objects in OOP own a copy of specific data that is held within the program. When a specific class within a program is a subtype of another higher level or general class, the subtype class in OOP is said to be inherited from the general class (Hadar and Uri 43). The subclass therefore inherits both member functions and the data members of the base class. In object oriented programming, inheritance particularly refers to the method of reusing a specific code that is held by various objects with an aim of establishing a lower level or subtype class below a general class. The creation of subtypes however depends on the supporting platform of the programming language that is used to design or program the application. The general classes in inheritance are referred to as base classes and it is from these classes that the subtype classes inherit various attributes. Base classes are also referred to as parent classes or super classes (Pefkaros 219). The subclasses that are derived from the parent classes are therefore referred to as child classes or derived classes. This illustrates that the patent and child classes are related within a structure which leads to a hierarchy. Encapsulation is a concept and principle in object oriented programming in which the designer of a program hides the manner in which an object behaves from the approach of implementation. Encapsulation also includes separation of the looks of an object or it appearance from the methods through which its behavior is implemented. Encapsulation emanates from the fact that objects within a program have well defined interfaces (Ramsin and Richard 31). These are the publicly accessible methods and fields. Therefore when information about objects is hidden below or behind a specific interface, it is then said that the design of a program has implemented encapsulation. This situation is also referred to as information hiding. It therefore is notable that in object oriented programming, programmers use interfaces as the most effective way through which behavior of objects are described. Polymorphism is another principle within object oriented programming process which refers to the process of dealing with a particular object without any need for awareness of the class within which it falls. Polymorphism is obviously therefore an extension of the concept of inheritance. Furthermore, polymorphism can also arise as a consequence of the process of inheritance in the design of a program or application. Polymorphism can also be understood as the property of a program in which it is able to take more than one forms. This means that a polymorphic program can be employed to represent objects of diverse or divergent types (Hadar and Uri 45). An operation within a program can for example depict divergent behaviors depending on the instances within which it is used. However, the behavior of such operation is reliant on the type of data which is being processes by the program. An addition operation is a good example that can demonstrate the meaning of a polymorphic program. The addition operation will generate a sum of two numbers in computing. However, if the given operands are in form of strings, the addition operation will come up with a third string through the process of concatenation. Data encapsulation and abstraction are related concepts in object oriented programming. Encapsulation refers to the processes through which functions and data are wrapped into one unit called a class. This concept is very important in OOP because the most significant characteristic of a class is the encapsulation of data (Giacaman and Oliver 238). Data encapsulation plays the role of ensuring that a specific set of data is only accessible by the functions of a program that are wrapped within a specific class. In this sense therefore the external world cannot access data from a different class. Therefore, encapsulation ensures that data is hidden and direct access to it by a specific program is restricted or limited. This concept is also known as data hiding. On the other hand, abstraction is the process through which essential features of a program without necessarily including or explaining any background details (Ramsin and Richard 25). Classes which employ abstraction are often described in line with their abstract characteristics or attributes. These attributed include function operate, weight, size and cost. These abstracts are also referred to as data members because of their role in holding data or information. Member functions or methods in object oriented programming are used to operate these abstracts and the related data sets. Dynamic binding is a concept within object oriented programming which describes the process of associating a specific procedure call to a code that requires be implementing or executing. This process often occurs in response to the procedure call (Hadar and Uri 46). Therefore, dynamic binding acts to ensure that the code of the procedure call is hidden until the run time and time of the actual call. This concept also has a close correlation to inheritance and polymorphism. For example, the type of dynamic reference determines the function call of a specified polymorphic reference point. Dynamic reference plays a significant role in interlinking and defining relationships within classes as defined by the inheritance methods and polymorphic points. Within an object oriented program, there is a concept called message passing. This reflects the group of object within a program which operates by communicating with one another. Object oriented programming process involves the creation of classes and the related objects in addition to the establishment of the method through which they communicate. This communication is achieved through the processes of transmitting and receiving data or information within the process or concept of message passing (Pefkaros 220). The design and development of information systems by programmers employs the concept of message passing to a large extent because of the role of such systems in the exchange and communication of data and information. In the modeling of systems, the message passing concept is applied in ensuring that the model is designed to match it real world application program or system. Objet oriented programming is a common and popular paradigm in the design and development of programs and systems because of its benefits. For example, inheritance allows programmers to achieve successful elimination of all redundant codes from programs. The working modules within object oriented programming also allow the designers and developers of systems or application programs to create them in a manner which make them appropriately to interrelate and communicate information or data in an effective manner (Dubey and Ajay 2726). Secure programs in object oriented programming are achieved through the concept of data hiding. Furthermore, object oriented programming is advantageous because interference in communication is prevented though the possibility of multiple instances in objects (Giacaman and Oliver 254). The capturing of a model’s details before it is implemented is made possible through object oriented programming paradigm through its data centered approach or design. More importantly, the management of software complexity is effective in the program development paradigm which employed object oriented approach. The common programming languages that are object oriented include C++ and Java. These languages are used with a view of implementing the concepts of OOP (Khoo 124). Therefore, a programming language must be able to illustrate absolute support for the various concepts within the OOP paradigm in order for it to be referred to as an OOP language. C++, which is a newer version and extension of C programming language, is object oriented and versatile. Because of this, it is used to develop large programs. C++ is also effective in implementing a wide variety of programming tasks. The various tasks in object oriented programming which are effectively achieved through C++ include databases, editors, communication systems, compilers and real life systems or applications (Dubey and Ajay 2728). C++ allows programmers to come up with objects that are related within a specific hierarchy and mapping problems within the real world. The benefits of programs or applications that are generated via C++ programming language are that these programs are both expandable and maintainable. This means that new features can easily and effectively added into a program or system that was generated through the implementation of C++ to achieve object oriented programming. Java is an OOP language whose syntax is derived from its predecessors C and C++. In the implementation of this program, class files are employed by programmers and these can be able to be run by any form of Java Virtual Machine regardless of the specific architecture or platform that is employed within a computer system (Khoo 123). This programming language was designed with a purpose of minimizing the dependencies of its implementation and in this sense, Java is a class based, general purpose and concurrent OOP language which allows programmers generate programs once for use within any platform. This means that there is no need for a recompilation for a program when the platform of its use changes (Giacaman and Oliver 235). In its different versions, Java depicts common principles which represent its benefits. These include its simplicity, robustness, security, portability and architectural neutrality in the programs that are designed through this OOP language. In addition, through Java, high performance is achieved within applications and programs. Works Cited Dubey, Sanjay Kumar, and Ajay, Rana. "A Comprehensive Assessment Of Object-Oriented Software Systems Using Metrics Approach." International Journal On Computer Science & Engineering (2010): 2726-2730. Web. 17 Dec. 2012. Giacaman, Nasser, and Oliver, Sinnen. "Parallel Iterator for Parallelizing Object-Oriented Applications." International Journal of Parallel Programming 39.2 (2011): 232-269. Web. 18 Dec. 2012. Hadar, Irit, and Uri, Leron. "How Intuitive Is Object-Oriented Design?" Communications Of The ACM 51.5 (2008): 41-46. Web. 17 Dec. 2012. Khoo, Benjamin. "A Process-Based Analysis of Object-Oriented System Analysis and Design." International Journal of Management and Information Systems 15.1 (2011): 123-130. Web. 19 Dec. 2012. Pefkaros, Kenneth. "Using Object-Oriented Analysis And Design Over Traditional Structured Analysis And Design." International Journal Of Business Research 8.2 (2008): 219-227. Web. 17 Dec. 2012. Ramsin, Raman, and Richard, Paige. "Process-Centered Review Of Object Oriented Software Development Methodologies." ACM Computing Surveys 40.1 (2008): 1-89. Web. 18 Dec. 2012. Read More