Object, is a fundamental concept in object-oriented programming. Objects in software are similar to physical world objects, having states and behaviors.

What is an Object?

In software, the states of objects are stored as variables, and their behaviors are defined by methods. Objects are a combination of variables, functions, and data structures. Each created object is derived from a class, which defines its attributes and behaviors. The properties of objects include:

Each object has its own unique identity. Two objects cannot have the same name, thus unique naming should be used for each object.
Objects have states that define their properties. The data stored in an object is defined as its state, determined by variables.
The actions that objects can perform determine their behavior.

What is Object-Oriented Programming?

Object-oriented programming (OOP), known as nesne yönelimli programlama (NYP) in Turkish, is a programming approach where each function is defined as objects, and development is conducted through these objects. It's a style of software development based on the interaction between objects.

Languages like C++, Python, Java, PHP, Swift, Kotlin, Ruby, Dart, and Objective-C commonly support object-oriented programming. An object-oriented programming language must have abstraction, encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism features.

• Abstraction: Abstraction is the process of creating a superclass that has common properties of sub-classes but does not represent an actual object. Thus, an abstract superclass is formed.
• Encapsulation: Encapsulation is used to prevent external modification of the methods and properties of the created objects. It defines how other objects can access the methods, data, and variables of an object. Encapsulation uses three different specifiers: Public, Private, and Protected.
• Inheritance: Inheritance allows the creation of new classes from an existing class. A class derived from another inherits its methods and variables, establishing a parent-child relationship among classes.
• Polymorphism: Polymorphism is the ability to use a method from one class in another class under the same name but altered. The functionality of a method inherited from another class is modified for use.

Advantages of Objects and Object-Oriented Programming

Object-oriented programming is supported by many programming languages today and is preferred by developers. Using objects in software development offers many benefits to developers.

Created objects make code reuse easier. Objects are reusable and can be modified. In case of errors in the developed software, if the error stems from an object, detecting and correcting it is much simpler than reviewing the entire code. Developers working on the project do not need to know the underlying processes of the objects they use. Essentially, the use of objects simplifies the software development process and facilitates it by adding modularity to the developed code, providing advantages during development and maintenance phases. It also contributes to the development of highly scalable applications.