An Object Too Far: Object-Orientation in the CS 1 - CS 2 Trenches

摘要

The emphasis on object-oriented programming as being the only way to develop software has gained real momentum in both the academic world and the industrial world. This raises the question of how objects are integrated into the CS 1 -CS 2 course sequence. It has been the experience of the authors that when objects are introduced into beginning computer science courses they are often introduced in an inappropriate manner. Classes have much to offer. They can encapsulate data and functionality to hide complexity from the rest of the program. They allow a program to create many copies of an object while allowing each instance to exist separately. If this is the case why do computer science students coming out of the traditional CS 1 -CS 2 sequence have such a limited understanding of objects? It has been the experience of the authors that students know how to define classes but have no clue as to how to choose classes. It has also been our experience that students coming out of a typical CS 1 -CS 2 sequence know next to nothing about inheritance. While the organizational benefits and practical applicability of the object-oriented approach are undisputed, some processes are fundamentally procedural and don't reap any benefit by being translated into classes. If the students see these kind processes being forced into an object-oriented mold they will fail to appreciate the utility of object-oriented design.