OOP, which stands for Object-Oriented Programming, is a programming paradigm that uses "objects" to design software. Objects are entities that contain data and methods for operating on that data. The main OOP concepts include encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism, and abstraction.
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Encapsulation: Hides the internal details of an object, exposing only the necessary interfaces for operations.
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Inheritance: Allows newly created classes (subclasses) to inherit properties and methods from existing classes (superclasses), enabling code reuse and extension.
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Polymorphism: Allows different objects to respond to the same message, with specific behavior depending on the object's type.
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Abstraction: Simplifies complex real-world problems into models by defining classes, highlighting only relevant and important details.
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The main advantages of OOP are improved software maintainability, reusability, and extensibility, which streamline the development and management of large software projects.