Object != Class

Many developers write procedural code in object-oriented languages like Java and C#. Telling them "write object-oriented code" is very easy than implementing it, especially for three classes of developers.

1. Interns and novices who don't know exactly what it is and not have sufficient practical knowledge.

2. Experienced developers but never got it right. Nobody told them that whether it is correct or not by reviewing their code base

3. People came from other engineering stream and curriculum for example studied non-computer science groups and entered into software development without having a formal training etc.

The theory they learned and the examples they used in academics are not enough to know the differences. The examples they used for practicing are vary depending the stream they studied. For example: Engineering stream and IT stream. Engineering stream uses technical examples. IT stream uses the business information processing example. It is easy to understand them from real world examples like Birds, Animals, Geometrical Shapes etc. but it is very hard to apply these principles and techniques in business entities and information processing etc.

Classes are blue prints of objects.  Objects are instances of those classes having an Identity, State, and Behavior. Objects are collections of roles and responsibilities. Objects play roles and roles will have responsibilities to carry-out some job. Objects are mostly about behavior to carry out some task. They are not bundles of data. The object’s state should be always hidden from the outside the world.

Decomposing and distributing the responsibilities among small-small objects is an art that should be deliberately practiced over and over and constantly reviewed to know whether there are multiple things in going into single object.

I’ll write more in detailed on this subject in coming posts.