The main difference between structured and object oriented programming is that structured programming allows developing a program using a set of modules or functions, while object oriented programming allows constructing a program using a set of objects and their interactions.
A computer program is a set of instructions that instruct the CPU to perform a defined task. We can write computer programs using various programming languages. Furthermore, a programming paradigm is a way of categorizing a programming language depending on its features. Two such paradigms are structured and object oriented programming.
Key Areas Covered
1. What is Structured Programming
– Definition, Functionality
2. What is Object Oriented Programming
– Definition, Functionality
3. Difference Between Structured and Object Oriented Programming
– Comparison of Key Differences
Key Terms
C Language, Modular Programming, Object Oriented Programming, Structured Programming
What is Structured Programming
Structured Programming divides a program into a set of functions or modules. Modular programming is another name for this. These functions have statements embraced inside curly braces. Each of these functions performs a subtask. Usually, as each function represents a specific functionality, it is easier for the programmer to test and debug the code, but this can differ depending on the program. C language and Pascal are two common structured programming languages.
In the structured programming C, the user can create his own user-defined functions. The main function calls the other functions. It indicates the execution of the program. When there is a function call, the control is passed to that function. After completing the function, the control passes back to the main program. Moreover, a variable inside a function is a local variable, and global variables are accessible by all the functions.
What is Object Oriented Programming?
Object oriented programming allows the programmer to represent real-world scenarios using objects. An object is any entity that has states and behaviours. States represent the attributes or data of an object, whereas the methods represent the behaviours of objects. Student, Employee, Book etc. are objects. These objects interact with other objects by passing messages. Furthermore, a class is a blueprint for creating an object. It is necessary to have a class to create objects. For example, to create an Employee object, there should be an Employee class.
In addition to classes and objects, there are four major pillars in OOP. They are as follows.
Encapsulation – Binds or combines properties and methods into a single unit
Inheritance – Allows a class to use properties and methods of an already existing class
Polymorphism – Allows an object to perform in multiple ways – Overloading and overriding are two ways of achieving polymorphism.
Abstraction – Hides the internal details and displays only the functionalities to the user – Moreover, abstract classes and interfaces help to achieve abstraction.
Overall, object oriented programming makes it easier to develop the program. Furthermore, it provides data security, maintainability and code reusability.
Difference Between Structured and Object Oriented Programming
Definition
Structured programming is a programming paradigm which divides the code into modules or function, while OOP is a programming paradigm based on the concept of objects, which contain data in the form of fields known as attributes, and code in the form of procedures known as methods. Thus, this explains the main difference between structured and object oriented programming.
Main Focus
Furthermore, structured programming focuses on dividing the program into a set of functions in which each function works as a subprogram while object oriented programming focuses on representing a program using a set of objects which encapsulates data and object.
Modification
Moreover, it is difficult to modify the structured programs while it is easier to modify the Object Oriented programs.
Communication
In structured programming, the main method communicates with the functions by calling those functions in the main program whereas, in object oriented programming, the objects communicate with each other by passing messages. Hence, this is an important difference between structured and object oriented programming.
Access Specifiers
There are no access specifiers in structured programming while there are access specifiers such as private, public and protected in Object Oriented Programming. Thus, this is also an important difference between structured and object oriented programming.
Security
Besides, data is not secure in structured programming, but it is secure in object oriented programming.
Code Reusability
Also, it is difficult to reuse code in structured programming, whereas it is easier to reuse code in object oriented programming.
Conclusion
Overall, structured and object oriented programming are two major programming paradigms. The main difference between structured and object oriented programming is that structured programming helps to develop a program using a set of modules or functions while object oriented programming helps to construct a program using a set of objects and their interactions.
Reference:
1. “Structured Programming.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 June 2019, Available here.
2. “Object-Oriented Programming.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 9 June 2019, Available here.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Structured program patterns” By Orion 8 – Own work (CC0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “CPT-OOP-objects and classes”By Pluke – Own work (CC0) via Commons Wikimedia
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