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Characteristics of OOP Languages
Some of the characteristics of object-oriented programming language are as follows:
• It follows a bottom-up approach.
• More emphasis is given on data rather than procedure.
• Programs are divided into objects.
• Data cannot be accessed by external functions.
• Functions are the ways used by objects to communicate with each other.
• The most important characteristic is that new data and functions can be added as and when required without
making severe changes to the program. This is because it uses the concept of reusability where coding is written
once and can be used multiple times using different objects.
Drawbacks of OOP Languages
Some of the drawbacks of object-oriented programming language are as follows:
• Programming structure becomes complex and also time-consuming.
• There is no way to handle garbage collection automatically.
• A lot of planning goes behind OOP programming as designing OOP programs is tricky.
• Classes tend to be over-generalised.
• Object-oriented program needs more lines of coding than procedure-oriented program.
• It needs more memory to execute at a high speed. Thus, its execution is slower than the conventional encoding system.
• It requires intensive testing.
4.2 PRINCIPLES OF OBJECT-ORIENTED PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
Object-oriented programming languages depend on the following principles:
Principles of Object-Oriented
Programming Languages
Encapsulation Data Abstraction Inheritance Polymorphism
These principles are also called “The Four Pillars” (see image above) of object-oriented programming languages.
Let us study them in detail.
4.2.1 Encapsulation
Encapsulation is one of the basic concepts in OOP languages. It is the procedure of
combining data and functions together. As the only way to access the data are the Methods Variables
member functions, it keeps both data and functions safe from outside misuse and
interference; and thus leading to the important OOP idea of data hiding. Class
Concept of Encapsulation
A real-life example of encapsulation is a capsule. In general, a capsule is a small case
or container, especially round or cylindrical in shape which protects the drug inside it from getting contaminated with
the dust particles from outside. Similarly, methods and variables are enclosed within a unit called class.
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Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming Using Java 99

