OOPs: Understanding Object-Oriented Programming in Java
Object-Oriented Programming is a programming style which is associated with concepts like class, object, Inheritance, Encapsulation, Abstraction, Polymorphism. Most popular programming languages like Java, C++, C#, Ruby, etc. follow an object-oriented programming paradigm.
What is Object-Oriented Programming
Object-Oriented Programming System (OOPs) is a programming concept that works on the principles of abstraction, encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism. It allows users to create objects they want and create methods to handle those objects. The basic concept of OOPs is to create objects, re-use them throughout the program, and manipulate these objects to get results.
Aa Java being the most sought-after skill, we will talk about object-oriented programming concepts in Java. An object-based application in Java is based on declaring classes, creating objects from them and interacting between these objects.
What is a Class in OOPs Concepts?
The class is one of the Basic concepts of OOPs which is a group of similar entities. It is only a logical component and not the physical entity. Let’s understand this one of the OOPs Concepts with example if you had a class called “Expensive Cars” it could have objects like Mercedes, BMW, Toyota, etc. Its properties(data) can be price or speed of these cars. While the methods may be performed with these cars are driving, reverse, braking etc.
What is an Object in OOPs Concepts?
An object can be defined as an instance of a class, and there can be multiple instances of a class in a program. An Object is one of the Java OOPs concepts which contains both the data and the function, which operates on the data. For example – chair, bike, marker, pen, table, car, etc.
Four Building Blocks of OOPs
The building blocks of Object-Oriented Programming are Inheritance, Encapsulation, Abstraction, and Polymorphism. Let’s understand more about each of them.
- Inheritance
Inheritance is one of the Basic Concepts of OOPs in which one object acquires the properties and behaviours of the parent object. It’s creating a parent-child relationship between two classes. It offers a robust and natural mechanism for organizing and structure of any software.
- Encapsulation
Encapsulation is one of the best Java OOPs concepts of wrapping the data and code. In this OOPs concept, the variables of a class are always hidden from other classes. It can only be accessed using the methods of their current class. For example – in school, a student cannot exist without a class.
- Abstraction
Abstraction is one of the OOP Concepts in Java which is an act of representing essential features without including background details. It is a technique of creating a new data type that is suited for a specific application. Let’s understand this one of the OOPs Concepts with example while driving a car, you do not have to be concerned with its internal working. Here you just need to concern about parts like steering wheel, Gears, accelerator, etc.
- Polymorphism
Polymorphism refers to one of the OOPs concepts in Java which is the ability of a variable, object or function to take on multiple forms. For example, in English, the verb run has a different meaning if you use it with a laptop, a foot race, and business. Here, we understand the meaning of run based on the other words used along with it. The same also applied to Polymorphism.
Advantages of Object-Oriented Programming
- Improved productivity during software development
- Improved software maintainability
- Faster development sprints
- Lower cost of development
- High-quality software
Best Practices for OOP Concepts in Java
Since the aim of OOP concepts in Java is to save time without sacrificing security and ease of use, the best practices are all oriented toward advancing that main goal.
- DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself): This is the core concept in Java. You should never have two blocks of identical code in two different places. Instead, have one method you use for different applications.
- If you expect your Java code to change in the future, encapsulate it by making all variables and methods private at the outset. As the code changes, increase access to “protected” as needed, but not too public.
- Single Responsibility. Another best practice for OOP concepts in Java is the Single Responsibility Principle. Simply put, a class should always have only one functionality. That way, it can be called and/or extended on its own when new uses arise for it, without causing coupling between different functionalities.
- Open Closed Design. Make all methods and classes Closed for modification but open for an extension. That way, tried and tested code can remain static but can be modified to perform new tasks as needed.
I hope you guys are clear with all the object-oriented programming concepts that we have discussed above i.e., inheritance, encapsulation, abstraction and polymorphism. Although we have covered almost all the OOPs concepts here, whatever we have learned in this blog is in brief, these topics are wide and there is so much scope to learn these topics in detail. Now that you have understood the Object-Oriented Programming concepts in Java, check out our Java Training which is designed to give you a head start into Java programming and train you for both core and advanced Java concepts along with various Java frameworks.