Object-Oriented Programming

Object-oriented programming views a given application area as collection of interacting units, called objects. Every object has its own state and its own set of operations. Objects request each other to execute operations by sending messages. Classes define properties, behavior and structure of a set of similar objects. Analogies between classes are exploited to build inheritance hierarchies. The object-oriented methodology improves the development of large software systems. It supports modular design, code reuse and software extendibility. The paper presents the basic features of objectoriented programming. It considers variants of object- oriented concepts, found in various programming languages. The important impact of objectoriented programming onto software engineering is stressed. © 1988 De Gruyter Oldenbourg. All rights reserved.