Overview

In recent years, there has been a great deal of discussion in magazine articles and books on the merits of object-oriented programming (OOP) methods. Sadly, much of the debate has revolved around an increasing vocabulary of jargon words and phrases. The main concentration has been on the theory of OOP methods, with little investigation of the practicalities of object-oriented programming and how it is applied to the real world.

Anyone new to the topic will be put off by this discussion, which has resulted in the myth that OOP is a highly complex discipline to be avoided by the majority of humble programmers. It is true that the theory of OOP is complex, but this very complexity has meant that most OOP languages have developed frameworks which, when applied to practical problems, result in easier, more bug-free programming.

The majority of this book looks at the practical aspects of object-oriented programming and shows how quite complex applications can be built up in a very short time, with particular reference to the Windows environment. This first chapter explains the principles of OOP and shows that, when looked at dispassionately, there is little substance behind the jargon and the hype. OOP can (and should) be fun, profitable, effective, and, above all, open to all programmers, whatever their backgrounds.

Language Development

The rapid increase in the popularity of Windows over the last few years has revolutionized the way many people work. In the past, personal computers were capable of running only...