Object Model in Java

Overview of Object Model

Have you ever thought about how software programs can see and communicate with the components that make them up?

The object model is useful in this situation. Developers can represent those components as objects using sophisticated object-oriented techniques thanks to a strong system or interface.

The object model is actually so crucial to software development that it's frequently one of the first stages. The object model establishes the framework for a reliable, adaptable, and scalable application design by defining crucial features like inheritance and encapsulation. Are you set to learn more about object-oriented programming?

Objects and Classes

Java or any other Object-Oriented Programming Language's Object-Oriented paradigm depends on objects and classes. Let's examine them more closely to see what they are all about −

Object

In object-oriented programming, an object is comparable to a real-world element, whether physical or conceptual, with its distinct properties.

Here are some of the defining features of an object −

• Unique − Every object is distinct from all other objects in the system, with its own attributes and behaviors.

• State − Each object has a state that represents its current properties and values specific to that particular object.

• Behavior − An object's behavior refers to the actions it can take and how it interacts with other objects, both internally and externally.

For example, a person could be represented as a physical object, while a process or a product might be better suited as a conceptual object.

Class

A class is a blueprint or model for an object that depicts a collection of objects with similar traits. These things are referred to as instances of the class. There are several elements in a class −

The information kept in an object's attributes can vary from one object pertaining to the same class to another. Class data is the name given to these characteristics.

Operations are the procedures and techniques used to specify and depict these objects' activities.

Think about the class "Employee," for instance. The following characteristics could apply to this class −

• The employee's experience

• The department in which the employee is working

• The year in which the student is the employee started working

• Personal information such as the employee's name, employeel ID, and date of birth.

Using this class, you can carry out a number of operations, including −

• averageyears() − calculates the average years of employee experience.

• totalyears() − calculates the total years of experience of an employee.

Algorithm

• Step 1 − Create the "Employee" public class.

• Step 2 − Call the "total_years" function with the two numbers 2 and 4 to add the total number of employee experience.

• Step 3 − Then we have called another function called "avg_years" with the result from "total_years" and an integer 2. This function calculates the average of the two numbers. It returns the result as a decimal.

• Step 4 − The program prints the results to the console using the System.out.println method.

• Step 5 − The output displays the total number of years of experience, which is 6. The average of the two numbers is 3.0.

Example

The below code defines a class "Employee" that calculates the total and average years of experience for two employees and prints the results to the console.

import java.io.*;
public class Employee {
   public static void main (String[] args) {
      // passing parameters to functions
      int tot = total_years(2,4);
      double avg = avg_years(tot, 2);

      // printing the output
      System.out.println("The total years is = "+tot+". The average is = "+avg+".");
   }

   // function to calculate total
   public static int total_years(int executive, int senior) {
      int total = executive + senior;
      return total;
   }

   // function to calculate average years
   public static double avg_years(int total, int num_subs) {
      double avg = total/num_subs;
      return avg;
   }
}

Output

The total years is = 6. The average is = 3.0.

Concepts of Encapsulation and Data Hiding

To ensure that our data is kept secure and not vulnerable to outside interference, encapsulation and data hiding are essential concepts that must be implemented.

Encapsulation involves grouping methods and attributes together in a class. External access to internal details or class attributes is only permitted if the class provides an interface for it.

Data hiding, on the other hand, is the process of safeguarding an object from direct access by external methods.

Many objects need to be able to communicate with one another in order to make an interactive application. This communication is facilitated by message passing, which entails calling class methods between objects created by various processes. In most cases, message passing is unidirectional and enables communication between two things.

Inheritance

It is possible to create new classes from existing classes that have wider functionality by using the fundamental concept of inheritance. The initial classes are commonly referred to as parent classes, base classes, or super-classes, whereas the new classes are known as child classes, derived classes, or subclasses.

Subclasses may inherit or acquire the characteristics and capabilities of their superclass as long as the superclass allows it.(es). Additionally, the child class has the power to modify any inherited super-class methods as well as introduce new traits and methods of its own.

Because inheritance establishes an "is-a" relationship between parent and child classes, it provides programmers with a powerful instrument for developing object-oriented applications.

For instance, you may create classes, like Crocodile, Snake, and Chameleon, using the Reptile class as a blueprint. Apart from the common features of being a reptile, each has distinctive characteristics. It is, therefore true to say that a crocodile "is-a" a reptile.

Polymorphism

The word "polymorphism," which derives from Greek, refers to the capacity to assume several shapes. It refers to the capacity of operations to act differently based on the type of object they are applied to in the context of object-oriented programming.

This makes it especially helpful in inheritance because it enables objects with various internal structures to share a common interface.

Let's use the two classes Triangle and Rectangle as an illustration. Both classes include a method called findArea().

Although the method's name and objective are the same in both classes, how it is internally implemented (i.e., how the area is calculated) varies depending on the class.

When an object of class Rectangle runs its findArea() function, it does so without interfering with the findArea() method of the Triangle class in calculating the area of the circle.

Generalization and Specialization

In a class hierarchy, subclasses inherit from superclasses, which is reflected in generalisation and specialisation.

In the generalisation process, subclasses are joined to form a generalized super-class, merging the shared traits of classes to generate a class at a higher level of the hierarchy.

It suggests a "is - a - kind of" relationship.

For instance, "bike is a kind of land vehicle" or "boat is a kind of water vehicle."

The opposite of generalization is the process of specialization. In this instance, specialized classes are made from pre-existing classes using the identifying traits of groups of items. You can think of subclasses as specialized versions of the superclass.

Links and Associations

Links and associations are used to represent relationships between objects. A link represents a connection between objects through which they collaborate. An association is a group of links with common structure and behavior, representing relationships between objects of one or more classes.

The degree of association indicates the number of classes that are linked.

Cardinality ratios of associations denote the number of instances participating in an association.

Aggregation and Composition

Aggregation or composition is a relationship among classes where a class can be made up of any combination of objects of other classes.

Objects can now be placed immediately within the body of other classes.

Aggregation is referred to as a "part-of" or "has-a" relationship, with the ability to navigate from the whole to its parts. An aggregate entity is made up of one or more other objects.

Conclusion

Since it enables developers to represent components as objects using object-oriented techniques, the object model is a crucial part of software development. Through objects and classes, which form the basis of the Object-Oriented Paradigm, Java uses the object model. Key ideas within the object model that improve the adaptability, scalability, and robustness of applications include encapsulation, data hiding, inheritance, and polymorphism. By grasping these ideas, developers can come up with more effective, efficient, and versatile software apps.