Object Oriented Programming for Kids
Object-oriented programming is one of the hardest areas of programming to learn and teach. The claim that everything is an object is the concept behind object-oriented programming (OOP for short).
The whole paradigm of the object-oriented paradigm is the concept of objects. These objects contain data, which we also call attributes (properties), and methods. Objects can interact with each other.
In this article , the Pixel School of Programming for Children will break down the basics of object-oriented programming and tell you how easy it is to explain OOP to children.
Fundamentals of Object-Oriented Programming
Object-oriented programming is based on the concept of objects.
In object-oriented programming, data structures (objects) are defined, each of which has its own properties or characteristics (attributes). Each object can also contain its own procedures or methods.
Software is developed using objects that interact with each other. This provides various benefits such as:
- speed of execution of commands and simplicity of their execution;
- ensuring a clear program structure;
- simplification of code modification, debugging and maintenance;
- facilitating code reuse.
Object-oriented languages are varied, but the most popular are class-based languages in which objects are instances of classes. Important object-oriented languages include Java, C++, C#, Python, and JavaScript.
The easiest way to explain object-oriented programming to a child is to use something like a car as an example. For example, a car has a model name, color, year of manufacture, engine size, and other attributes.
Principles of object-oriented programming
The main principles of object-oriented programming are encapsulation, abstraction, inheritance, and polymorphism. Now we will look at these four principles and how to explain them to a child.
Encapsulation
The principle of encapsulation implies that all properties and methods of an object remain private and protected from interference by other objects. In each object, we can have both private and public variables and methods. Private variables and methods cannot be called or used by other objects, while public ones can.
To explain this, let’s use our car example again. Attributes like color, year and model will be private variables. They simply cannot be changed by other objects.
Abstraction
Abstraction can be thought of as an extension of encapsulation, as well as a way to give an object characteristics that distinguish it from other objects.
Inheritance
As stated earlier, programs often contain thousands of lines of code. If we had to write code for a new object from scratch every time, then this would lead to more errors in the code and would take a sufficient amount of time.
To facilitate this, we can use the principle of inheritance. In inheritance, we extract the logic of the code we used to write for one object, called the parent, into another object, called the child.
Using our car example, we can, for example, extract characteristics such as year, color, and model into another object. This way we can use our car object to create other objects like trucks, buses and vans.
Polymorphism
Polymorphism gives us the ability to use an object in exactly the same way as its parent, but retain its own child functions.
We can use the truck as a means of transportation around the city, as well as a way to deliver goods from one point to another.
Object-oriented programming helps to understand the basic principles of programming in practice, because OOP solves the problems of uniqueness and code manageability in complex IT projects.
In the modern world, it will be useful for children to master not only popular languages, but also programming concepts. You can start learning code from scratch using the example of learning the Scratch and Scratch Junior languages.
We also invite you to visit the suburban programming camp for children “Pixel” in the Moscow region, which will be held all summer at the boarding house “Solnechny”.