This is the first post in a series of 3 that I am writing about the basics and understanding of Object Oriented programming and thinking. 

Thinking like a Programmer

So if you are like me you started out programming in an object-oriented language like C++ or Java. If you are like me again you probably thought to yourself, “What is Object Oriented programming?”. This is the problem with learning how to program, you can’t just pick it up and you can’t just jump into objects. You have to learn the procedural programming first so that you understand the syntax of the language but by the time you learn the syntax you are corrupted into only knowing procedural programming. I know there are some other alternatives to Java, C++, and C# (my favorite) for learning to program and I will give my take on those later.

 The first step in learning, and by learning I mean understanding, Object-Oriented (OO) design is to think like a programmer. What I mean by think like a programmer is that you have to modify the way that you solve problems, think, and perform according to the way you program. This may sound a little weird but go with me on this. If you start out thinking about every problem, or homework assignment, as a programmer then you can logically put together in your mind all of the steps needed to solve the problem. This is the same thing that occurs on a software project. You take down all of the problems or requirements then you have to think through everything in the most logical manner to begin sorting them all out. So when you really start thinking like a programmer you start tackling every problem the only way you know how to program, procedurally! This okay for starters, a lot of problems can be solved in a procedural manner.

 Thats all for now, I will post the rest of this article soon.