Differences between Procedural and Object Oriented Programming
Table of Content:
What is Procedural Programming?
You can define Procedural Programming as a programming model derived from structural programming. It follows the concept of the calling procedure. The procedures, also called functions, routines, or subroutines, consist of a series of computational steps that they need to carry out. During the execution of a program, one can call any given procedure at any point- either by other procedures or by itself.
Procedural Programming Languages – BASIC, FORTRAN, COBOL, ALGOL, Pascal, and C.
What is Object Oriented Programming?
You can define Object Oriented Programming as a programming model that follows the concept of objects. The objects contain codes in the form of methods and data in the form of attributes. In the case of Object Oriented Programming, it designs computer programs by using the concept of the objects interacting with the real world. There are various Object Oriented Programming languages. But the most popular ones among all are class-based. It means that the objects are instances of the classes determining their types.
Object Oriented Programming Languages – Java, Python, C#, C++, JavaScript, PHP, Ruby, Dart, Perl, Swift, Scala, Objective.
Differences between Procedural and Object Oriented Programming
Here's a tabular representation of the key differences between procedural and object-oriented programming:
| Feature | Procedural Programming | Object-Oriented Programming |
|---|---|---|
| Paradigm | Focuses on procedures or routines. | Focuses on objects. |
| Organization | Structured around procedures/functions. | Structured around objects. |
| Data and Functions | Data and functions are separate entities. | Data and functions are encapsulated within objects. |
| Code Reusability | Achieved through functions. | Achieved through inheritance and polymorphism. |
| Encapsulation | Limited support for encapsulation. | Fundamental principle; data is hidden and accessed through interfaces. |
| Inheritance | Generally lacks the concept of inheritance. | Supports inheritance for code reuse and hierarchy. |
| Polymorphism | Achieved through function overloading or similar techniques. | Supports polymorphism through method overloading and overriding. |
| Flexibility and Extensibility | May be less flexible and extensible as the codebase grows. | Provides a natural way to model real-world entities, enhancing flexibility and extensibility. |
| Example Languages | C, Pascal. | Java, Python, C++. |
| Real-World Analogy | Similar to a recipe where each step is performed in sequence. | Similar to assembling and interacting with objects in the real world. |
This table summarizes the main distinctions between procedural and object-oriented programming, providing a quick reference for understanding their differences.