Difference Between Object-Oriented Programming and Procedural Programming

Table of Contents

When someone is brand new to programming, then it is not so important to understand programming paradigms. But when it comes to creating complex software and programs, it is important to understand the programming paradigm for the best preference of project.  

The programming paradigm is the way the elements and the structure of a computer program are arranged. Programming structures are mainly classified into object-oriented and procedural programming. They both have different work approaches and are applied in several applications.   

Object-Oriented Programming vs Procedural Programming 

The main difference between object-oriented and procedural programming is that programs are divided into objects in object-oriented programming. On the other hand, procedural programming divides the program into functions. Object-oriented programming is a bottom-up approach, whereas procedural programming is a top-down approach. Data hiding is available in object-oriented programming that’s why it is more secure compared to procedural programming.

The acronym for object-oriented programming is OOP. This programming is referred to as the concept of an object-based programming model. Its program is less complex due to modularity. In this, the concept of objects is used to design computer programs that interact with the real world.

The abbreviation for procedural-oriented programming is POP. It is referred to as the concept of calling procedure-based programming model. This model is mainly derived from structured programming. Procedures simply comprise of computational steps series which are to be carried out. It is also referred to as routines, functions, or sub-routines.

Comparison Table Between Object-Oriented Programming and Procedural Programming 

Parameters of ComparisonObject-Oriented ProgrammingProcedural Programming
ApproachBottom-up approachTop-down approach
Divided intoObjectsFunctions
SecureMoreLess
Access specifierYesNo
ExamplesC++ and JAVABASIC and FORTRAN

What is Object-Oriented Programming? 

OOP or object-oriented programming is a computer programming model to organize software design around objects or data rather than logic and functions. An object can be described as a data field with unique behavior and attributes. It mainly focuses on the objects that developers manipulate rather than logic manipulate them.  

The programming approach is preferred for programs that are complex, large, and actively maintained or updated. This mainly includes programs for design and manufacturing as well as mobile applications. For instance, object-oriented programming is used for manufacturing system simulation software.  

An object-oriented program’s organization also makes the method advantageous to collaborative development in which projects are majorly divided into groups. Scalability, efficiency, and usability are the additional benefits of object-oriented programming. In this kind of programming, objects can communicate as well as move with each other with the help of member functions.

In object-oriented programming, the very first step is to collect all the objects for the manipulation by the programmer and identify the reaction between them is an exercise called data modeling. The building blocks, or structure of object-oriented programming mainly consists of methods, classes, attributes, and objects. 

What is Procedural Programming? 

For a programmer, procedural programming might be the first programming paradigm to learn. Procedural code directly instructs a device in logical steps to finish a task. Procedural programming generally involves writing a list of instructions for a computer to tell what to do step by step to finish the task. Most functions for sharing uses global data that can be accessed freely in the system from function to function. 

Based on the procedure call concept, the paradigm divides the program into procedures and are also known as functions or routines, which simply contain a series of steps to be carried out. Procedural programming uses a linear top-down approach and treats procedures and data as two different entities. Communication is done by return and parameter value in procedural programming.  

The first procedural programming languages including, ALGOL, PL/I, COBOL, BASIC, and Fortran which appeared circa 1957-1964. The published circa 1970-1972 were C and Pascal. Procedural programming consists of several key features such as local variable, modularity, global variable, parameter passing, and predefined function.   

For procedural programming, computer processors generally provide hardware support through a stack register, calling procedures instructions and returning from them. For other types of programming, hardware support is possible, but there is no attempt that was successful commercially. 

Main Differences Between Object-Oriented Programming and Procedural Programming  

  • In object-oriented programming, data does not transfer from one to another object. On the other hand, the same data can be transferred from one function to another in procedural programming.  
  • In object-oriented programming, communication is done by sending a message to them. But communication is done by return and parameter value in procedural programming.  
  • Object-oriented programming generally provides an easier way to add new functions and data. On the flip side, adding new functions and data in procedural programming is not so easy.  
  • When it comes to data accessibility, data can be kept public or private in object-oriented programming, while in procedural programming, most functions for sharing uses global data that can be accessed freely in the system from function to function.  
  • In object-oriented programming, objects can communicate and move with each other with the help of member functions, whereas data can freely move from function to function in the system in procedural programming. 
  • Conclusion 

    It can be concluded, among the types of programming paradigms, object-oriented and procedural programming are two of them. The programming paradigm is the way the elements and structure of a computer program are arranged. Object-oriented programming and procedural programming have different work approaches and applied applications.

    Object-oriented programming divides the program into smaller programs which are referred to as objects, whereas procedural programming divides the program into smaller ones and is known as function. In object-oriented programming, data fails to transfer from one to another. On the flip side, in procedural programming, the same data can be pass on from one function to another. So, the programmer has to choose applicable programming paradigms for a certain project

    References 

  • https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/947955.947961
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