Introduction to object-oriented programming

Duration2h30 + preparation

Presentation and objectives

Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a style of programming, a way of organizing instructions and data, which is different from the one you’ve used so far in this course. Today, many software programs and libraries are structured using the object-oriented approach. Understanding this programming style has therefore become an essential component of programming. The aim of this session is to introduce some basic concepts of OOP from a theoretical point of view, but also to use them in a practical way.

Before the class

Technical requirements

To be able to start working on the activity, you should meet the following requirements:

Please bring your own computer.
Make sure to have a functional network connection.

Prior knowledge acquisition

The labs part of this session will be devoted to creating your first object-oriented program. You will practice with classes, object creation and method calls and you will experience the importance of encapsulation.

Before arriving in class, you should study the following articles:

a very short introduction to the concept of programming paradigm,
the basic concepts that characterize object-oriented programming (classes, objects, attributes, methods, encapsulation, and inheritance) and how they are used,
and a document about the OOP syntax.

Here are the slides used to introduce them. Note that the articles provide more details than the slides, which should be seen as introductory material. Thus, you have to come back to the articles between sessions:

Slides of the session.

You can verify your understanding of these articles here:

Self-assessment quiz.

During the class

Practical activity

The class is dedicated to a practical activity. When ready, click on the link below to start:

Practical activity.

After the class

Complete the current session

Before the next session, you should:

Review the contents of the articles above.
Complete the non-optional parts of the practical activity.

Prepare the next session

Also, you should:

Check the Before the class section of the next session, and make sure you do everything required to prepare it.