Programming with objects

The primary question about object programming is "How is it better than traditional programming methods?" The following answers are typically given: increased productivity, more code reuse, better management of complexity, and encouragement of a healthy programming style. However these advantages may not be evident until one understands the philosophy behind an object. Furthermore, when trying to learn an object based language, the first obstacles appear to be terminology and language syntax. This is deceiving since the real obstacle is learning to think of a program in terms of objects rather than data and subroutines. The distinction is as subtle as it is powerful. The present authors present some terms and ideas about programming with objects without emphasizing any specific programming language.<>