What is object-oriented programming?
Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a design philosophy that is fundamentally different from the older procedural programming approach used in languages like C and Pascal. While procedural programming relies on a series of instructions, or procedures to tell the computer what to do, OOP focuses on objects, which encapsulate both data and behavior.
An object in OOP is a data structure that contains both attributes (properties) and actions (methods). We can think of an object as "thing" or noun in the English language, which can represent both real-world and virtual entities. For example, everyday objects like trees, grass, dogs, and fences can all be modeled with properties and actions.
Consider an example of a can of Jolt Cola, an energy drink that was very popular when I was in college. This could be modeled as an object with attributes like volume, caffeine content, temperature, and size. It could also have actions like drinking and changing...
