What is OOP?

In this lesson, we'll learn about the historical background of OOP and also key features of object-oriented programming.

Historical Background

It was in the 60’s and early 70’s when the idea of object-oriented programming started occupying the minds of programmers. Keeping in view the benefits acquired through object orientation in SIMULA, the scientists encouraged languages using the same approach for programming. Object-oriented programming was a complete paradigm shift from the popular structural programming.

Object: A Fundamental Entity

Object-oriented programming is based on the idea of an object. An object is an entity with some data and operations. Data is also referred to as properties of the object whereas operations include accessing and modifying those properties along with other functions that depict the behavior of the object.

Example

A fork is an object with properties including a number of prongs, its size, and material (made of plastic or metal), etc. Behavior and functions of a fork include shredding, squashing, making design or may be simply eating.