Understanding The Message Concept In OOPs
To understand object oriented programming, you will need to become familiar with messages. As the name implies, a message is a process in which software objects will communicate with one another. Because of this, having one object is not enough.
An object will work best when it is exists in a large application that is populated by other objects. When these objects interact with each other, programmers will be able to gain a high level of functionality, and the behavior of the system will be very complex. To give you an example of this, imagine that you have a motorcycle that is sitting in your garage. By itself, it is nothing but gears and metal. However, when you sit on it, turn it on, and begin riding it, both you and the motorcycle have created interaction.
The software objects that exist within a program must interact as well. They will do this by sending messages to each other. When object Z wants object R to initiate one of R’s methods, object Z will transmit a signal to object R. There is a possibility that object R will not have enough information to activate the method. For example, if you want your motorcycle to slow down, you will need to "communicate" with it by pressing down on the brakes. The data that is transferred with the message is called parameters. The messages that are sent between software objects are comprised of three things. The first is the object to which the message is being sent. The second is the name of the method that is being requested. The third is the parameters that must be used with the method.
The messages use parameters to make sure the information is precise. If the receiving object does not have enough information, it will not be able to properly carry out the method. The three parts that make up a message are enough for the receiving software object to carry out the requested method. There is no other information that is needed. There are two important advantages that messages have. First, the behavior of an object will be displayed through the methods it uses. Because of this, transferring messages will allow a large number of interactions to occur between objects. Second, the objects will not have to be in the same machine in order to send or receive messages. It is also not necessary for them to be in the same process.
Encapsulation plays an important role in object oriented programming. It can be defined as concealing decisions which are related to the design of a computer program. The information that will often be hidden are things that are likely to be altered. The purpose of encapsulation is to protect the other parts of the application from changing when one piece of information is changed. To conceal a design decision, a programmer will need to build a strong interface. This interface will cover the rest of the application from any changes that are made. In contemporary programming languages, the concept of encapsulation has been used in a number of different ways.
While some people choose to use encapsulation as a general term for hiding information, others use it in a manner which is much more specific. In object oriented programming, the software module may hide the data by encapsulating it within a module which showcases an interface. It will reduce the chances of a software being damaged during its development by transferring the dependency of the code into an interface which is secure. The elements will carry out operations on the interface so that if a change occurs, it is not necessary for the clients to change as well. In most cases, the information will be hidden by concealing the layout of the data. If the layout is altered, the change will be reduced to a small portion of the program.
Information hiding is important for splitting up software, hardware, or equipment into parts that are functional. A good example of this is a car. A car is a intricate device that is split into a number of modules. Each module will have an interface which hides the decisions which are related to design. This will allow car companies to offer a number of products while maintaining a car which is cost effective to build.