Importance of OOP concepts? Are they really used to full extent???

Question

Hi all,

The question seems pretty simple, and so is the answer. I am a developer who recently started working. So far I had taken few bachelor and master level courses on OOP. And yet I am not comfirtable and confident with OOP concepts. Recently, I was searching for employment opportunities and I found that many employers were keen to know how much confident I am on OOP concepts.

I have a very strong theorotical knowledge on OOP concepts. Although this theorotical knowledge is helping me in clearing the interviews and getting a job but when it comes to implementation I am getting dumb. If you ask me what is reflection then you will get a perfect answer from me, but if someone asks me why and where do we use it, then I get fumbled.

Now I really want to know what I should do when I am not getting an opportunity to implement all or most of the OO concepts in my projects.

Also I really feel with all the latest development tools and programming environments, many of the programmers are getting pampered to use already built components, frameworks and libraries and this is might create a vacuum of good architects.

I want to become a successful architect and for that I think I must be very strong in this area.

Then I thought of learning NHibernate where you will be dealing with objects entirely.

Now what I need is few valuable tips that would help me in grasping all or most of the OOP concepts.

Answer 1

It sound like you're missing real programming experience. Nothing will substitute that.

Go working, exercise, read, learn from your more experienced colleagues. Eventually you'll get it.

As for very advanced tools, you are correct. They produce code monkeys in ever increasing amounts. If you see it right now you are on a good start. Just keep to the path. Good architects will always be needed and valued.

Answer 2

Interesting question. To some extent I've grown up with Object programming, I've evolved as the various frameworks have evolved, I'd never before considered how it would feel to come to a landscape where so many sophisticated frameworks already exist. Their very presence tends to inhibit that degree of fumbling and stumbling and generallly getting it wrong that leads to deeper understanding.

My perception though is that serious development is still a matter of good design, it's not all just fill-in-the-gaps, hey IOC framwork tell me what to do, programming.

You can enhance your theoretic knowlege by studying the "how" of the framworks you use. But I guess what you need is practical experience, can't comment upon what's open to you in your place of work, but if you can't get it there you may need to do some "hobbyist" or open source development.

One thing I would recommend is trying to get involved in design discussions, try to get your designs reviewed by experienced developers. With any luck they may even say: "hey why didn't you use reflection there ..."

Answer 3

You want to start looking at design patterns. Knowing the when, how and why of using OOP is more valuable than knowing OOP itself.

Frameworks are great and I don't fault people for using them. But, there is still a lot of room for great architects in this space. Exploit the gap of programmers knowing how to use them, but not why or when. Frameworks quickly become a hammer looking for a nail for many developers. Open source is your friend here - dive into the source code and learn them from the inside out so you really understand what's being done and why.

Answer 4

In my experience, you learn the "conceptual" side of development from school and the "applications" side from real experience. There is no substitute for working on the job; no matter how much schooling I've had it never equates to what I've learned doing the real work. This is why it's also a good idea to get an internship in college if you're able.

As for the value of OOP itself, I find that it's most useful in large projects and in team projects. The whole point is to break down the solution into workable "conceptual" elements which makes intercommunication between team members easier as well as visualizing the solution. Visualization is the other big pro to OOP.

One thing to note about OOP IMHO is that entry level developers tend to overuse a lot of the OOP concepts. Not everything requires inheritance. Design patterns are extremely useful but also shouldn't be over applied. Look at your problem and first try to think of a solution on your own then compare it to known patterns and see if they provide a better answer. Simplicity can't be overrated.

Also, playing with tools like UML editors and Mind Mappers (such as XMind) are helpful in getting into the right frame of mind.

Check and see if there are any programming groups around you too; I find it's a good way to meet people that you can talk programming with and another advantage of OOP is its much easier to communicate programming ideas with.

Answer 5

Your next stop should be to look into design patterns (Applied OO). For an introductory text, check out Headfirst Design Patterns.