Introduction to Object Oriented Programming with Java

Study Notes

Java is one of the most popular computer languages used today due to its flexibility and widespread applications. At its core, it's based in Object Oriented Programming (OOP) concepts. This means that Java allows you to work with complex projects by breaking them down into smaller components called objects. Each object is responsible for managing certain aspects of your program, making coding more manageable and reducing bugs.

In OOP, everything you do within Java is associated with classes and their methods. A class represents the data type which can have attributes like variables or functions known as methods. These allow us to perform actions such as assigning values to variables or executing calculations. Methods always belong to a specific class; they cannot exist independently from it. For example, if we create a simple program in Java, it might look something like this:

public class MyClass {
    public static void main(String[] args){
        System.out.println("Hello World!");
    }
}

Here, MyClass is a class and main() method belongs to it. When you run the above code, it outputs 'Hello World!' because the println statement calls the System.out.print() method, implicitly defined in every PrintStream. That's why there's nowhere else to put System.out.print() in your program.

One strength of OOP lies in encapsulation. This involves hiding or protecting parts of our programs so they don’t get changed accidentally while other things happen around them. Encapsulating data also helps maintain the integrity of your information because only authorized functions can access it. Imagine having all your financial records out in plain sight. It would be chaos! But if you kept those documents locked away under a key, you could control who sees what.

Another important concept related to OOP comes into play when dealing with inheritance - where new classes can be created by taking characteristics from existing ones. By inheriting features from parent classes, children classes automatically acquire some traits without explicitly defining them again. Inheritance saves time since developers don't need to repeat themselves frequently.

With these building blocks of Java's Object Oriented Programming, even beginners can grasp how to structure their own software systems effectively.

Description

Learn the basics of Object Oriented Programming (OOP) with Java, where programs are structured around classes and objects. Explore concepts like encapsulation and inheritance to create efficient and organized software systems.