[Edu-sig] Explaining Classes and Objects

[Danny Yoo]

> ps -- i am not entirely sold on oo programming.  clearly it is the
> correct way to model certain problems, but a more functional approach
> seems better suited to other kinds.
>
> I think teaching TDD is more important than OO these days.  Am I only
> reflecting my own loves and predjudice?

Hi Laura,

If so, it's a prejudice that's shared by a few other people.  *grin*

Oleg Kiselyov has a paper called "Subclassing errors, OOP, and practically
checkable rules to prevent them":

    http://okmij.org/ftp/Computation/Subtyping/

where he brings up the idea that subclassing can be tricky, and that OOP
in general can be more complex just because one has to hold a class
hierarchy in one's head to know exactly what's going on.

One of the references in his paper is also interesting:

    http://research.microsoft.com/Users/luca/Papers/BadPropertiesOfOO.html

The attributes of a good "engineering language" in Luca's terms might not
necessarily be an ideal "teaching language".  But I think it's useful to
read some of the criticism from the procedural side of things, to better
understand the strengths and weaknesses of OOP.

Best of wishes to you!