What is Object Oriented Programming? [Definition & Properties]

Object-Oriented Programming, you must have heard of this term when we talk about a high-level programming language. To define any programming language, we mention whether the programming language support Object-Orientation programming or not.

If you’re a student of computer science, you may encounter the question “What is OOPS?” in your exam, and even in tech interviews, the interviewer could ask you the same question. Often when someone asks us what OOPS is? In response, we tell them the definition of class and object, which is incorrect. Though class and objects are the core part of Object-Oriented programming, we cannot define OOPS with the definition of class and objects.

Here in this article, we have provided an answer to What object-oriented programming is and how class & objects are related to it. We have also discussed the major properties of OOPS that a programming language should follow to be an Object-Oriented Programming Language.

What Is Object-Oriented Programming? [Definition]

A simple definition of OOPS says, “Object-Oriented Programming is a programming paradigm which uses the concepts of Objects” (A programming paradigm means an approach to solving a problem in a specific manner). Let’s break the above definition of OOPS and understand it in a nutshell.

An Object-Oriented Programming language is an approach to solving real-world problems using the concept of objects. In Object-Orientation programming, we can create an Object which can hold data and functions (attributes and methods), so the operations of the functions can only be applied to that specific data.

Now, every High-Level programming language supports OOPS because it provides some concepts which are often used to solve real-world problems.

The concept of OOPS is also known for its properties, which include topics like:

• Class
• Objects
• Polymorphism
• Inheritance
• Encapsulation
• Abstraction

Difference between Procedural Programming and Object-Oriented Programming:

In procedural programming, we make functions, and those functions can apply to data, whereas in Object-oriented programming, we create an object which contains both data (attributes) and function (methods) so the functions can be applied to specific data. As compared to Procedural programming, the implementation of OOPS is a little complex, but it helps to c complex algorithms.

Advantages and Disadvantages of OOPS

Advantages

• With OOPS, we can have a more modular structure approach in which we can hide the implementation of functions and data.
• OOPS, with its properties, introduce the principle of DRY, “Don’t Repeat Yourself”, which promotes the concept of code reusability.
• Programs written using the OOPS concept can be easily maintained if we want to update some features of the program or want to add something new. For that, we do not have to change the complete structure of the program.
• Using OOPS, we can create high-quality programs with low-cost development
• It provides more Productivity as compared to the Procedural Programming Paradigm .

Disadvantages

• Implementation of OOPS concepts is a little tricky as compared to procedural programming.
• OOPS involves more lines of code to create a program, as compared to Procedural programming.
• The execution of the OOPS program is slower than procedural programming
• It cannot be used to solve every kind of problem.

How are classes and Objects related to OOPS?

Before we tell you how class and object are used along with OOPS, let’s have a look at the definition of each one.

Class

A class is a blueprint that contains all the instructions related to an object, a class has no existence in the program until its object gets created. The class also determines all the properties of an object. No matter how many objects of a class get created, all of them will have the same properties.

Object

When we want to bring the class into existence, we create an object of that class, we can say that an object is the soul of the class, and there could be more than one object of a class. With the help of an object, we can access all the instructions of the class.

Class and Object Example using Python

class Human:

    def __init__(self):
        self.hands =2
        self.legs =2
        self.eyes =2
        self.fingers = 10

sam = Human()
will = Human()

Class and Objects are an important part of OOPS because, with the help of these two concepts, we implement all the other properties of OOPS in a programming language, from Polymorphism to Encapsulation. We can implement everything using classes and objects.

Properties of Object-Oriented Programming language

To be an Object-Oriented programming language, that programming language should follow the properties of an OOPS, which are:

• Encapsulation
• Abstraction
• Polymorphism
• Inheritance

1. Encapsulation

With Encapsulation, we deal with wrapping the data and methods under a single unit or entity, and class is the perfect example of implementing the concept of Encapsulation. With encapsulation, our approach is to bind the data and its properties using a single entity so the code cannot be manipulated by any outer factor.

Encapsulation also promotes the concept of data hiding if there are two classes. One class cannot use the data of another class until the developer itself allow the accessibility explicitly.

2. Abstraction

Abstraction can be defined as the extension of the Encapsulation property. In Abstraction, we deal with the hiding of important information and detail from the user. For example, when we create a program , to access its functionality, we provide some buttons so the user can access the functionality of the program without knowing the real code behind it.

In abstraction, we try to hide the irrelevant details from the user, so the user only communicates with the program output rather than the program working.

3. Polymorphism

Polymorphism is a Greek word that means “many shapes”, and as its name suggests, polymorphism deal with the multiple shape or nature of an object. In OOPS, polymorphism helps to differentiate between two objects having the same nature or structure.

For example, if we use the + operation between 2 integers, it will perform the addition operation, but instead of using the + operator between two integers, if we use it between two strings, it performs the concatenation operation. Polymorphism itself bought two important concepts, which are:

• Method Overloading
• Method Overriding

4. Inheritance

Inheritance is the most important property of OOPS; it is a property that brings the concept of code reusability to Object-Oriented programming languages. Using the concept of inheritance, one class can inherit another class's public and protected properties.

Using the concept of inheritance, you can use any module written by another developer, so you do not need to write the complete code from scratch. There are various types of Inheritance, such as:

• Single Inheritance
• Multiple Inheritance
• Multi-level Inheritance
• Hybrid Inheritance

Summary

• Object-Orientation is a programming paradigm that uses the concept of the object to solve any problem.
• A programming paradigm is an approach to solving a problem in a specific manner.
• Every high-level programming support object-oriented programming
• A class is a blueprint for a solution.
• An object is an entity that brings a class into existence
• Polymorphism, Inheritance, Encapsulation, and Abstraction are the four major properties of Object-Oriented programming.

Whatever programming language you choose to learn , make sure that it supports Object-Oriented programming. As with Object-Oriented programming, we cannot solve every problem, so keep in mind that do not completely depend on OOPS when writing code for your project.

If you like this article or have any suggestions related to Object-Oriented programming, please let us know by commenting down below. Your feedback will be a valuable asset to us.

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