Object-oriented programming: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 17:07, 31 March 2020

Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm that enforces object-oriented design principles to solve software problems. As of LabVIEW 8.20, LabVIEW is an object-oriented programming language. In object-oriented programming, a class defines data with restricted access, and methods to work with that data. A client then creates an object - a specific instance of a class - to perform actions using methods that are exposed by the class. The implementation details are hidden from the client.

Because implementation details are hidden from the client, methods and data of a class can change without affecting any of the client's code. This can even happen at runtime by replacing one class with another of the same kind. Classes can inherit methods and data from a parent class to override methods of the parent class. The client can then use the child class as if it was the parent class, without changing any of the existing code. Methods called by the client will seamlessly execute the methods defined by the child class. If the child class doesn't override a method, the parent's method is called. This behavior is called dynamic dispatching in LabVIEW.

A parent class can change the access scope of a method to limit access to child classes (protected), friends (community) or nobody (private). Public methods are accessible by anyone.

Benefits of OOP

Reusability

Scalability

External links

Object-oriented design (Wikipedia)
SOLID (Wikipedia)
NI FAQ on Object Oriented Programming
Introduction to Object Oriented Programming by Elijah Kerry
Creating Classes
When should you use classes

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-Object oriented software designs in LabVIEW follow many of the same programming principals as object oriented software in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object-oriented_programming other programming languages].  In general object oriented software is done in LabVIEW by first creating a class.  This class is an object that has has the ability to add functionality to data.  This allows for abstraction of the underlining data and allows operations to happen on a more segmented part of the application.  This often leads to better reusability and scalability.
+'''Object-Oriented Programming''' (OOP) is a [[Wikipedia:programming paradigm|programming paradigm]] that enforces [[Wikipedia:object-oriented design|object-oriented design]] principles to solve software problems. As of [[LabVIEW 8.20]], LabVIEW is an object-oriented programming language. In object-oriented programming, a [[class]] defines data with restricted access, and [[method]]s to work with that data. A client then creates an [[object]] - a specific instance of a class - to perform actions using methods that are exposed by the class. The implementation details are hidden from the client.
-== Access Scope ==
+Because implementation details are hidden from the client, methods and data of a class can change without affecting any of the client's code. This can even happen at runtime by replacing one class with another of the same kind. Classes can [[inheritance|inherit]] methods and data from a parent class to [[overriding|override]] methods of the parent class. The client can then use the child class as if it was the parent class, without changing any of the existing code. Methods called by the client will seamlessly execute the methods defined by the child class. If the child class doesn't override a method, the parent's method is called. This behavior is called [[dynamic dispatching]] in LabVIEW.
-Object oriented software allows for specific data, or functions to have scope set to them which restricts access from other parts of the application.  A common use for this is with internal references, or sessions, which if given to the rest of the application could be inadvertently closed.  By keeping the internal references from being accessed externally, an object can have more control over who has access, and how its internals are accessed.
+A parent class can change the [[access scope]] of a method to limit access to child classes (protected), friends (community) or nobody (private). Public methods are accessible by anyone.
-== Inheritance ==
+==Benefits of OOP==
+===Reusability===
-Using object oriented software in LabVIEW allows for a class to inherit from another class.  This child class has the ability to call all the parents functions, but then also can optionally override a parents call if the VI is setup to be dynamic dispatch.
+===Scalability===
-== Dynamic Dispatch ==
-Calling a parents initialize function might not be sufficient for all children, and so a dynamic dispatch call can override the parents call with the child's specific implementation.  This child implementation can also call the parent's depending on how the VI is written.
-== Interfaces ==
-* See [[Americas CLA Summit 2019#StephenGInterfaces|Stephen Loftus-Mercer ACLA Summit 2019 Presentation on G Interfaces]].
-== See also ==
+==See also==
 * [[LVClass]]
 * [[G-sharp Framework]]
 * [[GOOP]]
+* [[Americas CLA Summit 2019#StephenGInterfaces|Stephen Loftus-Mercer ACLA Summit 2019 Presentation on G Interfaces]]
-== External Links  ==
+==External links==
-*[http://www.ni.com/white-paper/3573/en/ NI FAQ on Object Oriented Programming].
+* [[Wikipedia:Object-oriented design|Object-oriented design]] (Wikipedia)
+* [[Wikipedia:SOLID|SOLID]] (Wikipedia)
+*[http://www.ni.com/white-paper/3573/en/ NI FAQ on Object Oriented Programming]
 *[https://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW-Development-Best/Introduction-to-Object-Oriented-Programming-and-Hardware/ta-p/3519580 Introduction to Object Oriented Programming] by Elijah Kerry
-*[http://zone.ni.com/reference/en-XX/help/371361P-01/lvconcepts/creating_classes/ Creating Classes].
+*[http://zone.ni.com/reference/en-XX/help/371361P-01/lvconcepts/creating_classes/ Creating Classes]
-*[https://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW-Development-Best/When-Should-You-Use-LabVIEW-Classes/ba-p/3478257 When should you use classes].
+*[https://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW-Development-Best/When-Should-You-Use-LabVIEW-Classes/ba-p/3478257 When should you use classes]
+{{stub}}
+[[Category:Object-Oriented Programming]]
+[[Category:Programming Paradigm]]