Explaining "object-oriented" that even elementary school students can understand in 5 levels

Are there many people who think that writing classes is object-oriented these days? The content is about ** that even elementary school students can understand ** for such people. I will explain object-oriented programming in a self-styled manner with a mixture of subjectivity. Please note that it may be a little difficult to understand because the vocabulary is low.

Level 1 "Thinking in reality"

First of all, I will explain it in a fairly chewy manner. There are various meanings of ** "object" **, but here we will explain with ** "object" **. There are four basic fluctuations in "object": ** "production", "movement", "change", and "destruction" **. These fluctuations have different behaviors depending on the ** nature of the "object" **.

Expressed as a "robot", it is as follows.

-** [Production] Robots are made ** -** [Action] Robot moves forward by command ** -** [Change] Robot deteriorates over time ** -** [Destroy] Robot explodes and disappears **

Next, when expressed in "animals", it is as follows.

-** [Production] Animals are born ** -** [Action] Animal walks forward ** -** [Change] Animals get older ** -** [Destroy] Animals die **

** The essence of fluctuation is similar **, but ** the behavior is completely different **. We will build a framework ** that processes these ** behaviors separately for each property of the thing ** "object-oriented" **.

Level 2 "Game-like way of thinking"

Video games you all know. All the things represented on the screen are ** "objects" **. Let's take a look at the four variations of the basic display in the game.

The framework for managing these as "objects" is "object-oriented". It can be said that the game itself is "object-oriented". People involved in game development must have an object-oriented understanding in common.

Level 3 "Thinking about commonalities and differences"

In any environment, there are some ** attributes ** that objects have in common.

--Identifier (name, etc.) --Position (three-dimensional)

• size --Visible or invisible
• etc...

Let A be these ** common attributes **. Next, let's consider the difference between animals and machines. (Various things can be assumed in the game, but here we will take the real world as an example)

--Voice for animals, electronic sound for machines (makes sounds) ... ① --Animal is the heart, machine is the CPU (active) ... ② --Animal, machine ... etc ...

** I somehow understand that the phenomenon is different, but the essence is the same **. Let's call these differences B. Next, consider ** whether the difference can be judged by appearance **. Pay attention to B ①②.

―― ① Animals make sounds with vocal cords, machines make sounds with speakers ――② Animal heart moves by blood pressure, machine CPU moves by voltage

** The essence is the same, but the mechanism is different. ** ** Let this difference be C.

Level 4 "Three principles of object orientation"

It is said to be the three object-oriented principles ** "inheritance" "polymorphism" "encapsulation" **. As some of you may have noticed, the element ABC explained in Level 3 actually applies to this.

--A: Inherit items of common attributes: ** Inherit ** --B: Polymorphism with the same essence but different behavior: ** Polymorphism ** --C: Mechanism invisible from the outside: ** Encapsulation **

Level 5 "Try to write a program"

I'm finally writing a program, but this time I'll write it in ** C ++-like notation **.

• (Because I was writing C ++ eight years ago when I was a student ... We do not verify the operation, so please point out any mistakes. ) * ** Understanding classes is almost essential ** for ** object-oriented programming **. If you understand classes in any language, you should be able to understand the example below. Know the specifications of the language class you want to study now. Every language has ** "class inheritance" ** and ** "method override" **, so look for this word. Even when dealing with a language without classes, ** object-orientation is feasible by changing the behavior according to the nature of the data **.

It's long to do it, so I'll try to express it with * "difference between dog and monkey" * that just outputs simple characters. As a premise, the following classes / functions / macros used in the example are explained.

Difference between dog and monkey

class Animal{
private:
  String name;
  String voice;
  String food;

protected:
  void init(const String& in_name, const String& in_voice, const String& in_food)
  {
    this->name = in_name;
    this->voice = in_voice;
    this->food = in_food;
  }
  virtual ~Animal() {}

public:
  String getName()  { return this->name;  }
  String getVoice() { return this->voice; }
  String getFood()  { return this->food;  }
  virtual void actionRun(){}  //Overwrite with inheritance destination
  virtual void actionTalk(){} //Overwrite with inheritance destination
  virtual void actionEat(){}  //Overwrite with inheritance destination
};

class Dog : public Animal{
public:
  Dog(){ this->init("dog", "one! one!", "Bone"); }
  virtual void actionRun() override { print(strMarge(this->getName(), "Walks with four legs")); }
  virtual void actionTalk() override { print(strMarge(this->getName(), "Is", this->getVoice(), "Barking")); }
  virtual void actionEat() override { print(strMarge(this->getName(), "Is", this->getFood(), "Eat with a gorigori")); }
};

class Monkey : public Animal{
public:
  Monkey(){ this->init("monkey", "Key! Key!", "banana"); }
  virtual void actionRun() override { print(strMarge(this->getName(), "Walks with limbs")); }
  virtual void actionTalk() override { print(strMarge(this->getName(), "Is", this->getVoice(), "Cry")); }
  virtual void actionEat() override { print(strMarge(this->getName(), "Is", this->getFood(), "Peel and eat by hand")); }
};

int main()
{
  std::shared_ptr<Animal> dog    = std::make_shared<Dog>();
  std::shared_ptr<Animal> monkey = std::make_shared<Monkey>();
  
  dog->actionRun();     //The dog walks with four paws
  dog->actionTalk();    //The dog is one! one! Barking
  dog->actionEat();     //Dogs eat bones

  monkey->actionRun();  //Monkeys walk with their limbs
  monkey->actionTalk(); //The monkey is the key! Key! Cry
  monkey->actionEat();  //Monkeys peel bananas by hand and eat

  return 0;
}

Even if ** type ** is Animal, the output content is different because ** entity (instance) ** is Dog and Monkey. The main points of the above code are summarized in bullet points.

-(1) When declaring each class of Dog and Monkey, ** inherit ** the class Animal that manages common attributes. --At the time of initialization, each common attribute is initialized. -② Override (override) ** three Animal virtual functions in each class and implement the behavior separately. ** (Polymorphism) ** ――③ I called the common method in the main function, but different sentences were output without knowing anything. (Encapsulation)

If ①②③ are completed, ** the object-oriented framework is completed **.

Summary

When it comes to the actual game, each class method written in the level 5 example is It will be a more complicated mechanism with animation changes and status changes rather than simple contents such as character output. Divide the complicated mechanism into classes to hide the behavior from the outside, ** It is possible to improve the implementation speed and implement readable source code naturally **, It's an absolute object-oriented advantage.