Object oriented or structured - a comparison in Python. Also writing clean regular expressions
Should I go "object oriented" with my code, or use functional coding? That's a big question, and the answer depends on the application you'll be writing, the language you'll be writing it in, the programmers concerned, the expected life cycle of the application, and whether you'll be able to reuse exising code or reuse your new code for other applications.
Please discuss this with me during your course ;-)
At times, the two idioms turn out to be not quite as different as you may think - from last week's Python course,
[here] is an example of a Python program that uses object (static) variables in structured programming way to save data between function calls, and
[here] is an example - all be it much extended - that retains data within an object.
One of the complaints about regular expressions is that they're hard to read back later. And one of
my complaints about many people who write regular expressions is that they make them hard to read back later.
In some languages, it's not natural to split regular expressions into readable, bite size sections - but it
is in Python - there's an example
[here] from last week's Python course.
(written 2012-03-26, updated 2012-03-31)
Associated topics are indexed as below, or enter http://melksh.am/nnnn for individual articles
Y106 - Object Oriented Python [477] Class, static and unbound variables - (2005-10-25)
[834] Python makes University Challenge - (2006-08-15)
[900] Python - function v method - (2006-10-20)
[1306] Python class rattling around - (2007-08-16)
[1348] Screw it or Glue it? Access to Object variables - a warning - (2007-09-12)
[1925] Introduction to Object Oriented Programming - (2008-12-06)
[2017] Python - a truly dynamic language - (2009-01-30)
[2169] When should I use OO techniques? - (2009-05-11)
[2604] Tips for writing a test program (Ruby / Python / Java) - (2010-01-29)
[3085] Object Oriented Programming for Structured Programmers - conversion training - (2010-12-14)
[3399] From fish, loaves and apples to money, plastic cards and BACS (Perl references explained) - (2011-08-20)
[3436] Moving from scripting to Object Orientation in Python - (2011-09-13)
[3878] From Structured to Object Oriented Programming. - (2012-10-02)
[3947] this or self - what are they, and what is the difference? (Python) - (2012-12-08)
[4021] Spike solution, refactored and reusable, Python - Example - (2013-02-28)
[4028] Really Simple Class and Inheritance example in Python - (2013-03-04)
[4129] Simple OO demonstration in C++, comparison to Python - (2013-07-01)
[4448] What is the difference between a function and a method? - (2015-03-04)
[4591] From single block to structure and object oriented programming - (2015-12-02)
[4650] Why populate object with values as you construct them? - (2016-02-18)
[4721] When to check an object type - Python isinstance example - (2016-11-03)
Q101 - Object Orientation and General technical topics - Programming Principles [2001] I have not programmed before, and need to learn - (2009-01-19)
[2022] Pre and post increment - the ++ operator - (2009-02-03)
[2228] Where do I start when writing a program? - (2009-06-11)
[2310] Learning to write high quality code in Lua - (2009-07-30)
[2327] Planning! - (2009-08-08)
[2415] Variable names like i and j - why? - (2009-09-22)
[2510] The music of the stock market - (2009-11-22)
[2550] Do not copy and paste code - there are much better ways - (2009-12-26)
[2586] And and Or illustrated by locks - (2010-01-17)
[2737] Improving your function calls (APIs) - General and PHP - (2010-04-24)
[2769] Easy - but for whom? - (2010-05-18)
[2878] Program for reliability and efficiency - do not duplicate, but rather share and re-use - (2010-07-19)
[2915] Looking up a value by key - associative arrays / Hashes / Dictionaries - (2010-08-11)
[2964] An introduction to file handling in programs - buffering, standard in and out, and file handles - (2010-09-21)
[3026] Coding efficiency - do not repeat yourself! - (2010-11-02)
[3456] Stepping stones - early coding, and writing re-usable code quickly - (2011-09-24)
[3542] What order are operations performed in, in a Perl expression? - (2011-12-07)
[3548] Dark mornings, dog update, and Python and Lua courses before Christmas - (2011-12-10)
[3551] Some terms used in programming (Biased towards Python) - (2011-12-12)
[3928] Storing your intermediate data - what format should you you choose? - (2012-11-20)
[3954] Lesson 1 in programing - write clean, reuseable and maintainable tidy code - (2012-12-16)
[4003] Web and console - same principle, same code - Ruby example - (2013-02-14)
[4061] Seamless, integrated IT - we have a long way to go! - (2013-04-11)
[4090] Test Driven Development in Python - Customer Comes First - (2013-05-16)
[4118] We not only teach PHP and Python - we teach good PHP and Python Practice! - (2013-06-18)
[4153] Rooms available tonight - how to code an algorithm from first principles - (2013-08-19)
[4206] Writing the perfect program in Tcl? - (2013-11-13)
[4325] Learning to program - what are algorithms and design patterns? - (2014-11-22)
[4611] Hungarian, Camel, Snake and Kebab - variable naming conventions - (2016-01-03)
[4632] Remember to ask the question before you listen for the answer - (2016-01-26)
[4645] What are callbacks? Why use them? An example in Python - (2016-02-11)
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