Object-Oriented Programming

General Information

• University: Salahaddin University-Erbil
• Department: Software Engineering Dept.
• My Status: Assistant Lecturer
• Level: BSc
• Year: 2010-2012

Course Description

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), one of the most important methodologies in modern software development. Students will learn the fundamental principles and concepts of OOP, including classes, objects, inheritance, polymorphism, and encapsulation.

The curriculum emphasizes both theoretical understanding and practical implementation, enabling students to design and develop software using object-oriented principles. Through hands-on programming projects and exercises, students will gain experience in applying OOP concepts to solve real-world programming problems.

This course serves as a foundation for advanced software engineering courses and prepares students for professional software development careers where OOP is the dominant programming paradigm.

Prerequisites

• Programming Fundamentals (or equivalent)
• Basic programming concepts and logic
• Familiarity with at least one programming language
• Understanding of data types and control structures

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Understand and apply the fundamental principles of object-oriented programming.
• Design and implement classes and objects with proper encapsulation.
• Utilize inheritance to create class hierarchies and promote code reuse.
• Implement polymorphism through method overriding and overloading.
• Apply abstraction and interfaces for flexible software design.
• Handle exceptions and errors using proper exception handling mechanisms.
• Use generics and templates for type-safe programming.
• Design and implement object-oriented software solutions.

Course Outline

Module 1: Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming

• Evolution of programming paradigms
• Object-oriented programming principles
• Benefits and advantages of OOP
• Comparison with procedural programming
• OOP in modern software development

Module 2: Classes and Objects

• Class definition and structure
• Object creation and instantiation
• Instance variables and methods
• Constructors and initialization
• Object lifecycle and memory management

Module 3: Encapsulation and Access Control

• Data hiding and encapsulation principles
• Access modifiers and visibility
• Getter and setter methods
• Information hiding and abstraction
• Best practices for encapsulation

Module 4: Inheritance and Class Hierarchies

• Inheritance concepts and terminology
• Single and multiple inheritance
• Method overriding and super keyword
• Inheritance hierarchies and relationships
• Inheritance vs. composition

Module 5: Polymorphism

• Polymorphism concepts and types
• Method overloading and overriding
• Dynamic method dispatch
• Polymorphic behavior and flexibility
• Runtime vs. compile-time polymorphism

Module 6: Abstraction and Interfaces

• Abstract classes and methods
• Interface definition and implementation
• Multiple interface implementation
• Abstract vs. concrete classes
• Interface design principles

Module 7: Advanced OOP Concepts

• Static members and methods
• Final classes and methods
• Inner classes and nested classes
• Anonymous classes and lambda expressions
• Advanced inheritance patterns

Module 8: Exception Handling

• Exception types and hierarchy
• Try-catch-finally blocks
• Custom exception creation
• Exception propagation and handling
• Best practices for exception management

Module 9: Generics and Templates

• Generic classes and methods
• Type parameters and constraints
• Generic collections and data structures
• Type safety and type erasure
• Advanced generic programming

Module 10: Design Patterns and Best Practices

• Common design patterns in OOP
• SOLID principles
• Code organization and structure
• Documentation and naming conventions
• Testing and debugging OOP code

Textbooks

• [Recommended] “Object-Oriented Programming” by Timothy Budd
• [Optional] “Head First Object-Oriented Analysis and Design” by Brett McLaughlin, Gary Pollice, and David West

Assessment

• Midterm Exam (20%)
• Activities and Projects (30%)
  • Programming Assignments (15%)
  • OOP Design Projects (15%)
• Final Exam (50%)