Object Oriented Programming Concepts

Abstract

Computer programs model or simulate real-world or imaginary-world objects and their interactions. We can illustrate this by considering a simple computer game in which the user guides a little figure around a maze. The little figure is a model of a person who can walk around a maze. As with all models, because they are models, they do not have all of the facilities of their real-world counterparts. Our little figure may only be required to “walk” in each of the four compass directions (because the walls of the maze are at right angles to each other), and “recognise” when it reaches a wall, and “decide” which direction to take next. Note that the verbs “walk”, “recognise” and “decide” describe the behaviour or the functions of the model. Other aspects of the model might be its colour and the size of the figure. These attributes are information (or data) that describe the structure and nature of the model. They do not necessarily influence the behaviour of the model, but may do so, for example, if an aspect of the behaviour was a function to change the colour or size.