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
  [4028] Really Simple Class and Inheritance example in Python - (2013-03-04)
  [4021] Spike solution, refactored and reusable, Python - Example - (2013-02-28)
  [3947] this or self - what are they, and what is the difference? (Python) - (2012-12-08)
  [3878] From Structured to Object Oriented Programming. - (2012-10-02)
  [3436] Moving from scripting to Object Orientation in Python - (2011-09-13)
  [3399] From fish, loaves and apples to money, plastic cards and BACS (Perl references explained) - (2011-08-20)
  [3085] Object Oriented Programming for Structured Programmers - conversion training - (2010-12-14)
  [2604] Tips for writing a test program (Ruby / Python / Java) - (2010-01-29)
  [2169] When should I use OO techniques? - (2009-05-11)
  [2017] Python - a truly dynamic language - (2009-01-30)
  [1925] Introduction to Object Oriented Programming - (2008-12-06)
  [1348] Screw it or Glue it? Access to Object variables - a warning - (2007-09-12)
  [1306] Python class rattling around - (2007-08-16)
  [900] Python - function v method - (2006-10-20)
  [834] Python makes University Challenge - (2006-08-15)
  [477] Class, static and unbound variables - (2005-10-25)

Q101 - Object Orientation and General technical topics - Programming Principles
  [4090] Test Driven Development in Python - Customer Comes First - (2013-05-16)
  [4061] Seamless, integrated IT - we have a long way to go! - (2013-04-11)
  [4003] Web and console - same principle, same code - Ruby example - (2013-02-14)
  [3954] Lesson 1 in programing - write clean, reuseable and maintainable tidy code - (2012-12-16)
  [3928] Storing your intermediate data - what format should you you choose? - (2012-11-20)
  [3551] Some terms used in programming (Biased towards Python) - (2011-12-12)
  [3548] Dark mornings, dog update, and Python and Lua courses before Christmas - (2011-12-10)
  [3542] What order are operations performed in, in a Perl expression? - (2011-12-07)
  [3456] Stepping stones - early coding, and writing re-usable code quickly - (2011-09-24)
  [3026] Coding efficiency - do not repeat yourself! - (2010-11-02)
  [2964] An introduction to file handling in programs - buffering, standard in and out, and file handles - (2010-09-21)
  [2915] Looking up a value by key - associative arrays / Hashes / Dictionaries - (2010-08-11)
  [2878] Program for reliability and efficiency - do not duplicate, but rather share and re-use - (2010-07-19)
  [2769] Easy - but for whom? - (2010-05-18)
  [2737] Improving your function calls (APIs) - General and PHP - (2010-04-24)
  [2586] And and Or illustrated by locks - (2010-01-17)
  [2550] Do not copy and paste code - there are much better ways - (2009-12-26)
  [2510] The music of the stock market - (2009-11-22)
  [2415] Variable names like i and j - why? - (2009-09-22)
  [2327] Planning! - (2009-08-08)
  [2310] Learning to write high quality code in Lua - (2009-07-30)
  [2228] Where do I start when writing a program? - (2009-06-11)
  [2022] Pre and post increment - the ++ operator - (2009-02-03)
  [2001] I have not programmed before, and need to learn - (2009-01-19)

5775

Back to
Melksham Train Service - please support the TransWilts case for regular trains

Previous and next
or
Horse's mouth home

Forward to
Off to walk the dogs

Some other Articles

Some advise for guest speakers at meetings
Rising prices, changing habits and society
Spring 2012
Off to walk the dogs
Object oriented or structured - a comparison in Python. Also writing clean regular expressions
Melksham Train Service - please support the TransWilts case for regular trains
Future train services in Wiltshire - please write in to support a better service
Reading Google Analytics results, based on the relative populations of countries
Stepping through a list (or an array) in reverse order
Kings Cross - new concourse - between Python in Cambridge and Objective C in London

4106 posts, page by page

Link to page ... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83 at 50 posts per page

This is a page archived from The Horse's Mouth at http://www.wellho.net/horse/ - the diary and writings of Graham Ellis. Every attempt was made to provide current information at the time the page was written, but things do move forward in our business - new software releases, price changes, new techniques. Please check back via our main site for current courses, prices, versions, etc - any mention of a price in "The Horse's Mouth" cannot be taken as an offer to supply at that price.

Link to Ezine home page (for reading).
Link to Blogging home page (to add comments).

You can Add a comment or ranking to this page

Public Training Courses

Running regularly at our UK training Centre.
[Schedule] - [About] - [Book]

Like this? ??