C H A P T E R 10

Classes and
Object-
Oriented
Programming

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Pearson Addison-Wesley

 Topics
Procedural and Object-Oriented
Programming
Classes
Working with Instances
Techniques for Designing Classes
 Procedural Programming
Procedural programming: writing
programs made of functions that
perform specific tasks
Procedures typically operate on data items
that are separate from the procedures
Data items commonly passed from one
procedure to another
Focus: to create procedures that operate on
the program’s data
Object-Oriented Programming
Object-oriented programming: focused
on creating objects
Object: entity that contains data and
procedures
Data is known as data attributes and
procedures are known as methods
Methods perform operations on the data attributes
Encapsulation: combining data and
code into a single object
Object-Oriented Programming
(cont’d.)
Object-Oriented Programming
(cont’d.)
Data hiding: object’s data attributes are
hidden from code outside the object
Access restricted to the object’s methods
Protects from accidental corruption
Outside code does not need to know internal
structure of the object
Object reusability: the same object can
be used in different programs
Example: 3D image object can be used for
architecture and game programming
Object-Oriented Programming
(cont’d.)
An Everyday Example of an
Object
Data attributes: define the state of an
object
Example: clock object would have second,
minute, and hour data attributes
Public methods: allow external code to
manipulate the object
Example: set_time, set_alarm_time
Private methods: used for object’s
inner workings
 Classes
Class: code that specifies the data
attributes and methods of a particular
type of object
Similar to a blueprint of a house or a cookie
cutter
Instance: an object created from a
class
Similar to a specific house built according to
the blueprint or a specific cookie
There can be many instances of one class
Classes (cont’d.)
Classes (cont’d.)
Classes (cont’d.)
 Class Definitions
Class definition: set of statements that
define a class’s methods and data
attributes
Format: begin with class Class_name:
Class names often start with uppercase letter
Method definition like any other python
function definition
self parameter: required in every method in the
class – references the specific object that the
method is working on
 Class Definitions (cont’d.)
Initializer method: automatically
executed when an instance of the class
is created
Initializes object’s data attributes and assigns
self parameter to the object that was just
created
Format: def __init__ (self):
Usually the first method in a class definition
Class Definitions (cont’d.)
 Class Definitions (cont’d.)
To create a new instance of a class call
the initializer method
Format: My_instance = Class_Name()
To call any of the class methods using
the created instance, use dot notation
Format: My_instance.method()
Because the self parameter references the
specific instance of the object, the method will
affect this instance
Reference to self is passed automatically
Hiding Attributes and Storing
Classes in Modules
An object’s data attributes should be
private
To make sure of this, place two underscores
(__) in front of attribute name
Example: __current_minute
Classes can be stored in modules
Filename for module must end in .py
Module can be imported to programs that use
the class
The BankAccount Class –
More About Classes
Class methods can have multiple
parameters in addition to self
For __init__, parameters needed to create
an instance of the class
Example: a BankAccount object is created with a
balance
 When called, the initializer method receives a value to be
assigned to a __balance attribute
For other methods, parameters needed to
perform required task
 Example: deposit method amount to be deposited
 The __str__ method
Object’s state: the values of the
object’s attribute at a given moment
__str__ method: displays the object’s
state
Automatically called when the object is
passed as an argument to the print function
Automatically called when the object is
passed as an argument to the str function
 Working With Instances
Instance attribute: belongs to a specific
instance of a class
Created when a method uses the self
parameter to create an attribute
If many instances of a class are
created, each would have its own set of
attributes
 Accessor and Mutator
Methods
Typically, all of a class’s data attributes
are private and provide methods to
access and change them
Accessor methods: return a value from
a class’s attribute without changing it
Safe way for code outside the class to retrieve
the value of attributes
Mutator methods: store or change the
value of a data attribute
 Passing Objects as
Arguments
Methods and functions often need to
accept objects as arguments
When you pass an object as an
argument, you are actually passing a
reference to the object
The receiving method or function has access
to the actual object
Methods of the object can be called within the
receiving function or method, and data attributes
may be changed using mutator methods
Techniques for Designing
Classes
UML diagram: standard diagrams for
graphically depicting object-oriented
systems
Stands for Unified Modeling Language
General layout: box divided into three
sections:
Top section: name of the class
Middle section: list of data attributes
Bottom section: list of class methods
 Finding the Classes in a
Problem
When developing object oriented
program, first goal is to identify classes
Typically involves identifying the real-world
objects that are in the problem
Technique for identifying classes:
Get written description of the problem domain
Identify all nouns in the description, each of which
is a potential class
Refine the list to include only classes that are
relevant to the problem
 Finding the Classes in a
Problem (cont’d.)
Get written description of the problem
domain
May be written by you or by an expert
Should include any or all of the following:
Physical objects simulated by the program
The role played by a person
The result of a business event
Recordkeeping items
 Finding the Classes in a
Problem (cont’d.)
Identify all nouns in the description,
each of which is a potential class
Should include noun phrases and pronouns
Some nouns may appear twice
 Finding the Classes in a
Problem (cont’d.)
Refine the list to include only classes
that are relevant to the problem
Remove nouns that mean the same thing
Remove nouns that represent items that the
program does not need to be concerned with
Remove nouns that represent objects, not
classes
Remove nouns that represent simple values
that can be assigned to a variable
 Identifying a Class’s
Responsibilities
A classes responsibilities are:
The things the class is responsible for
knowing
Identifying these helps identify the class’s data
attributes
The actions the class is responsible for doing
Identifying these helps identify the class’s methods
To find out a class’s responsibilities
look at the problem domain
Deduce required information and actions
 Summary
 This chapter covered:
 Procedural vs. object-oriented programming
 Classes and instances
 Class definitions, including:
The self parameter
Data attributes and methods
__init__ and __str__ functions
Hiding attributes from code outside a class
 Storing classes in modules
 Designing classes