ABSTRACT
Executive summary: The object-oriented (OO) approach may be considered as an evolution in thinking about how to relate data structures and programs to one another—it is a “post-relational” approach that intends to facilitate modularity, flexibility, and hence, maintainability. OO is not a full life cycle methodology—rather, it is a way to design and implement software programs. Typically, OO development uses languages (such as Simula, Smalltalk, Objective C, and C++) specifically designed to support the OO framework. OO introduces a set of terminology, described in this chapter, which must be carefully understood. The following description is technically correct but intentionally written from a management perspective.
