Haliç University

Faculty of Engineering

CEN121

COMPUTER PROGRAMMING 1

Chapter 10

’’ Classes and Object-Oriented Programming’’

Lecturer: Asst.Prof. Zehra Merve Cinan
 TOPICS
• Procedural and Object-Oriented Programming
• Classes

• Working with Instances

• Techniques for Designing Classes

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Procedural Programming

 Procedural programming: writing programs made of

functions that perform specific tasks.

*Procedures typically operate on data items that are

separate from the procedures.

*Data items commonly passed from one procedure to

another.

*Focus: to create procedures that operate on the program’s

data.

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Object-Oriented Programming
 Object-oriented programming: focused on creating objects. Python is
an object oriented programming language. Almost everything in
Python is an object, with its properties and methods.object-oriented

 Object: the entity that contains data and procedures.

*Data is known as data attributes and procedures are known as methods.
 Methods perform operations on the data attributes.
 Encapsulation: combining data and code into a single object.
 Data hiding: object’s data attributes are hidden from code outside the
object.

*Access restricted to the object’s methods.

 Protects from accidental corruption.
 Outside code does not need to know the internal structure of
the object.

 Object reusability: the same object can be used in different programs.

Copyright © 2022 Pearson Education, Ltd. All Rights Reserved. *Example: 3D image object can be used for architecture and game
programming.
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An Everyday Example of an Object

 Data attributes: define the state of an object.

*Example: clock object would have second, minute,

and hour data attributes.

 Public methods: allow external code to manipulate the

object.

*Example: set_time, set_alarm_time.

 Private methods: used for the object’s inner workings.

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Classes

 Class: code that specifies the data attributes and methods

of a particular type of object. A Class is like an object
constructor or a "blueprint" for creating objects.

*Similar to a blueprint of a house or a cookie cutter.

 Instance: an object created from a class.

*Similar to a specific house built according to the blueprint

or a specific cookie.

*There can be many instances of one class.

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  To create a class, use the keyword class:

 If we want to create a class named MyClass, with a

property named x:
class MyClass:
x = 5

print(MyClass)
 Now we can use the class named MyClass to create
objects:
class MyClass:
x = 5

p1 = MyClass()
print(p1.x)

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Class Definitions
 Class definition: the set of statements that define a class’s methods
and data attributes.

*Format: begin with class Class_name:

 Class names often start with uppercase letter.
*Method definition like any other python function definition.
 self parameter: required in every method in the class –
references the specific object that the method is working on.

 Initializer method: automatically executed when an instance of the

class is created.

*Initializes object’s data attributes and assigns self parameter to the

object that was just created.

*Format: def __init__ (self):

*Usually the first method in a class definition.

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 class Person:  The previous examples are classes and objects in their
def __init__(self, name, age): simplest form and are not really useful in real-life
self.name = name applications.
self.age = age
 To understand the meaning of classes we have to understand
p1 = Person("John", 36) the built-in __init__() function.
print(p1.name)  All classes have a function called __init__(), which is
print(p1.age) always executed when the class is being initiated.

 Use the __init__() function to assign values to object

properties, or other operations that are necessary to do when
John the object is being created.
36  Note: The __init__() function is called automatically every
time the class is being used to create a new object.

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 Objects can also contain methods. Methods in objects are functions that belong to the object.
 Note: The self parameter is a reference to the current instance of the class, and is used to access variables that belong to the class.
 Let us create a method in the Person class:

class Person:
def __init__(self, name, age):
self.name = name
self.age = age

def myfunc(self):
print("Hello my name is " + self.name)

p1 = Person("John", 36)
p1.myfunc()

Hello my name is John

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 The self parameter is a reference to the current instance of the class and is used to access variables that belongs to the class.
 It does not have to be named self, you can call it whatever you like, but it has to be the first parameter of any function in the class.
 If we want to use the words mysillyobject and abc instead of self:

class Person: class Person:

def __init__(self, name, age): def __init__(mysillyobject, name, age):
self.name = name mysillyobject.name = name
self.age = age mysillyobject.age = age

def myfunc(self): def myfunc(abc):

print("Hello my name is " + self.name) print("Hello my name is " + abc.name)

p1 = Person("John", 36) p1 = Person("John", 36)

p1.myfunc() p1.myfunc()

Hello my name is John

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import random
# The Coin class simulates a coin that can
class Coin:
def __init__(self):
self.sideup = 'Heads'
def toss(self):
if random.randint(0, 1) == 0:
self.sideup = 'Heads'
else:
self.sideup = 'Tails' This side is up: Heads
def get_sideup(self): I am tossing the coin ...
return self.sideup
This side is up: Tails
def main():
my_coin=Coin()
print('This side is up:', my_coin.get_sideup())
print('I am tossing the coin ...')
my_coin.toss()
print('This side is up:', my_coin.get_sideup())
if __name__ == '__main__':
main()

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Copyright © 2022 Pearson Education, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

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 To create a new instance of a class call the initializer method.

*Format: My_instance = Class_Name()

 To call any of the class methods using the created instance, use dot notation.

*Format: My_instance.method()

*Because the self parameter references the specific instance of the object, the method will affect this instance.
 Reference to self is passed automatically.

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Hiding Attributes and Storing Classes in Modules

 An object’s data attributes should be private.

*To make sure of this, place two underscores (__) in front of

the attribute name.
 Example: __current_minute
 Classes can be stored in modules.

*Filename for the module must end in .py.

*Module can be imported to programs that use the class.

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import random

# The Coin class simulates a coin that can

# be flipped.

class Coin:

# The _ _init_ _ method initializes the

# _ _sideup data attribute with ‘Heads’.

def __init__(self):
self.__sideup = 'Heads'
# The toss method generates a random number
# in the range of 0 through 1. If the number
# is 0, then sideup is set to 'Heads'.
# Otherwise, sideup is set to 'Tails'.

def toss(self):
if random.randint(0, 1) == 0:
self.__sideup = 'Heads'
else:
self.__sideup = 'Tails'

# The get_sideup method returns the value

# referenced by sideup.

def get_sideup(self):
return self.__sideup
This side is up: Heads
# The main function.
def main(): I am going to toss the coin ten times:
# Create an object from the Coin class.
my_coin = Coin() Tails
# Display the side of the coin that is facing up. Tails
print('This side is up:', my_coin.get_sideup())
Tails
# Toss the coin.
print('I am going to toss the coin ten times:') Heads
for count in range(10):
my_coin.toss() Tails
print(my_coin.get_sideup())
Tails
# Call the main function.
if __name__== '__main__': Heads
main()
Tails
Tails
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Tails
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Copyright © 2022 Pearson Education, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

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The BankAccount Class – More About Classes
 Class methods can have multiple parameters in addition to
self.

*For __init__, parameters needed to create an instance

of the class.
 Example: a BankAccount object is created with a
balance.
• When called, the initializer method receives a
value to be assigned to a __balance
attribute.

*For other methods, parameters needed to perform required

task.
 Example: deposit method amount to be deposited.

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Copyright © 2022 Pearson Education, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

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The __str__ method

 Object’s state: the values of the object’s attribute at a given

moment.

 __str__ method: displays the object’s state.

*Automatically called when the object is passed as an

argument to the print function.

*Automatically called when the object is passed as an

argument to the str function.

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 class Person:
def __init__(self, name, age):
self.name = name
self.age = age
 The __str__() function controls what should be returned
def __str__(self):
when the class object is represented as a string. return f"{self.name}({self.age})"

 If the __str__() function is not set, the string p1 = Person("John", 36)

representation of the object is returned.
print(p1)

John(36)

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Working With Instances
 Instance attribute: belongs to a specific instance of a class.

*Created when a method uses the self parameter to create

an attribute.

 If many instances of a class are created, each would have

its own set of attributes.

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Copyright © 2022 Pearson Education, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

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Accessor and Mutator Methods

 Typically, all of a class’s data attributes are private and

provide methods to access and change them.

 Accessor methods: return a value from a class’s attribute

without changing it.

*Safe way for code outside the class to retrieve the value of
attributes.

 Mutator methods: store or change the value of a data

attribute.

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Passing Objects as Arguments

 Methods and functions often need to accept objects as

arguments.

 When you pass an object as an argument, you are actually

passing a reference to the object.

*The receiving method or function has access to the actual

object.
 Methods of the object can be called within the
receiving function or method, and data attributes may
be changed using mutator methods.

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Techniques for Designing Classes

 UML diagram: standard diagrams for graphically depicting

object-oriented systems.

*Stands for Unified Modeling Language

 General layout: box divided into three sections:

*Top section: name of the class.

*Middle section: list of data attributes.

*Bottom section: list of class methods.

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Finding the Classes in a Problem

 When developing the object-oriented program, the first goal is to identify classes.

*Typically involves identifying the real-world objects that are in the problem.

*Technique for identifying classes:

1. Get a written description of the problem domain.

2. Identify all nouns in the description, each of which is a potential class.
3. Refine the list to include only classes that are relevant to the problem.

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 1. Get a written description of the problem domain:

*May be written by you or by an expert.

*Should include any or all of the following:

 Physical objects simulated by the program.
 The role played by a person.
 The result of a business event.
 Recordkeeping items.
2. Identify all nouns in the description, each of which is a potential class:

*Should include noun phrases and pronouns.

*Some nouns may appear twice.

3. Refine the list to include only classes that are relevant to the problem:

*Remove nouns that mean the same thing.

*Remove nouns that represent items that the program does not need to be concerned with.

*Remove nouns that represent objects, not classes.

*Remove nouns that represent simple values that can be assigned to a variable.

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Identifying a Class’s Responsibilities

 A classes responsibilities are:

*The things the class is responsible for knowing.

 Identifying these helps identify the class’s data attributes.
*The actions the class is responsible for doing.
 Identifying these helps identify the class’s methods.
 To find out a class’s responsibilities look at the problem domain.

*Deduce required information and actions.

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 Summary
This chapter covered:
• Procedural vs. object-oriented programming
• Classes and instances
• Class definitions, including:
*The self parameter
*Data attributes and methods
*__init__ and __str__ functions
*Hiding attributes from code outside a class
• Storing classes in modules
• Designing classes

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 Asst.Prof. Zehra Merve Cinan
Faculty of Engineering
Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering,
8th Block, Floor: 2
Office: 2521

zehramervecinan@halic.edu.tr

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