Handling Business Objects

Abstract

The notion of objects as a means to structure code reaches back to the 1960s when Dahl and Nygaard invented Simula-67 [DN66]. Object-oriented programming as a new programming paradigm was introduced by Alan Kay with the Smalltalk programming language in the 1970s [Ing78]. Since then, object-orientation has evolved into the dominant programming paradigm for applications in various domains. Especially enterprise applications with their inherent aim to capture properties, behavior, and processes of real world companies benefit from object-oriented programming features. Concepts such as encapsulation, aggregation, and inheritance provide system architects with the means to design domain models, which reflect structures and relations of the real world. Based on such domain models, developers are able to communicate and discuss business logic with domain experts to verify conceptual and logical correctness of the system’s functionality.