Object-Oriented Design

In the object-oriented design method, the system is viewed as a collection of objects (i.e., entities). The state is distributed among the objects, and each object handles its state data. For example, in a Library Automation Software, each library representative may be a separate object with its data and functions to operate on these data. The tasks defined for one purpose cannot refer or change data of other objects. Objects have their internal data which represent their state. Similar objects create a class. In other words, each object is a member of some class. Classes may inherit features from the superclass.

The different terms related to object design are:

1. Objects: All entities involved in the solution design are known as objects. For example, person, banks, company, and users are considered as objects. Every entity has some attributes associated with it and has some methods to perform on the attributes.
2. Classes: A class is a generalized description of an object. An object is an instance of a class. A class defines all the attributes, which an object can have and methods, which represents the functionality of the object.
3. Messages: Objects communicate by message passing. Messages consist of the integrity of the target object, the name of the requested operation, and any other action needed to perform the function. Messages are often implemented as procedure or function calls.
4. Abstraction In object-oriented design, complexity is handled using abstraction. Abstraction is the removal of the irrelevant and the amplification of the essentials.
5. Encapsulation: Encapsulation is also called an information hiding concept. The data and operations are linked to a single unit. Encapsulation not only bundles essential information of an object together but also restricts access to the data and methods from the outside world.
6. Inheritance: OOD allows similar classes to stack up in a hierarchical manner where the lower or sub-classes can import, implement, and re-use allowed variables and functions from their immediate superclasses.This property of OOD is called an inheritance. This makes it easier to define a specific class and to create generalized classes from specific ones.
7. Polymorphism: OOD languages provide a mechanism where methods performing similar tasks but vary in arguments, can be assigned the same name. This is known as polymorphism, which allows a single interface is performing functions for different types. Depending upon how the service is invoked, the respective portion of the code gets executed.