4

Objects and classes: the basic concepts

Learning outcomes

The material and exercises in this chapter will enable you to:

•. Recognize some of the problems associated with traditional ways of developing software systems

•. Explain how the object-oriented approach addresses these problems

•. Describe the main features of an object and why it is effective as a software construct

•. Apply the concept of a class and explain the relationship between objects and classes

•. Identify the object relationships: association, aggregation and composition

•. Apply inheritance and polymorphism.

Key words you will find in the glossary:

• aggregation

• association

• attribute

• class

• client–server

• cohesion

• composition

• data hiding

• dynamic binding ...

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