Introduction of Object Oriented Programming

Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm that uses objects and classes to design and develop software applications. Unlike procedural programming, which focuses on functions and logic, OOP emphasizes real-world entities, making the code more modular, reusable, and maintainable.

Key Concepts of OOP in C++

  1. Class and Object

    • A class is a blueprint for creating objects, defining attributes (data members) and behaviors (member functions).
    • An object is an instance of a class that stores data and performs operations.

  2. Encapsulation

    • Bundling data and methods that operate on the data into a single unit (class).
    • Data hiding is achieved using access specifiers like private, protected, and public.

  3. Inheritance

    • Enables one class (child) to inherit properties and behaviors from another class (parent), promoting code reusability.
    • Example: class Car : public Vehicle { }

  4. Polymorphism

    • Allows objects to be treated as instances of their parent class, enabling function overloading and method overriding.
    • Example: Function overloading (print(int), print(double)) and function overriding (redefining a base class method in a derived class).

  5. Abstraction

    • Hiding complex implementation details and exposing only essential features.
    • Achieved using abstract classes and pure virtual functions.

Why Use OOP in C++?

  • Modularity: Code is organized into classes, improving maintainability.
  • Reusability: Inheritance allows reuse of existing code.
  • Scalability: Easy to extend and modify applications.
  • Security: Encapsulation protects data from unauthorized access.

Example of OOP in C++

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

// Class definition
class Car {
private:
string brand;
int speed;

public:
// Constructor
Car(string b, int s) {
brand = b;
speed = s;
}

// Method to display car details
void display() {
cout << “Brand: ” << brand << “, Speed: ” << speed << ” km/h” << endl;
}
};

int main() {
// Creating an object of the class
Car car1(“Tesla”, 200);
car1.display(); // Output: Brand: Tesla, Speed: 200 km/h

return 0;
}