Object Oriented Programming

At the center of java is oop. The object oriented methodology is inseparable from java, and all java programs are, to at least some extent, object oriented. Because of OOP's important to java, it is useful to understand OOP's basic principles before you write even a simple java program.

OOP is a powerful way to approach the job of programming. Programming methodologies have changed dramatically since the invention of the computer, primarily to accommodate the increasing complexity of programs. For example, when computers were first invented, programming was done by toggling in the binary machine instruction using the computer's front panel. As long as programs were just a few hundred instruction long, this approach worked. As programs grew, assembly language was invented so that a programmer could deal with larger, increasingly complex programs, using symbolic representations of the machine instructions. As programs continued to grow, high-level languages were introduced that gave the programmer more tools with which to handle complexity. The first widespread language was, of course. Fortan. Although Fortan was a very impressive first step, it is hardly a language that encourages clear, easy-to-understand programs.