Python OOPs (Object-Oriented Programming) Introduction for Beginners

When writing programs, we often deal with real-world things like students, cars, or bank accounts. These things have data (like a student's name or a car's color) and actions (like driving a car or updating a bank balance).

Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) helps us model these things in code using objects and classes.

Why Do We Need OOP?

• Organized code: OOP keeps related code (data + actions) together.
• Reusability: You can reuse classes to create many similar objects.
• Easy to manage: Large projects are easier to understand and maintain.

Key Concepts of OOP in Python

• Class: A blueprint or template for creating objects.
• Object: An actual thing created from the class.
• Attributes: Variables that belong to an object (like name, age).
• Methods: Functions that belong to an object (like speak(), run()).

Let’s See a Simple Example

Imagine you want to create a Dog. Every dog has a name and can bark.

# Defining a class
class Dog:
    def __init__(self, name):
        self.name = name

    def bark(self):
        print(self.name + " says Woof!")

# Creating objects
dog1 = Dog("Tommy")
dog2 = Dog("Buddy")

# Calling methods
dog1.bark()
dog2.bark()

Output

Tommy says Woof!
Buddy says Woof!

What’s Happening Here?

• class Dog: creates a class named Dog.
• __init__() is a special method that runs when we create an object. It sets the dog’s name.
• self.name stores the name of the dog.
• bark() is a method that prints a message using the dog’s name.
• dog1 = Dog("Tommy") creates a dog named Tommy.
• dog1.bark() tells Tommy to bark!

Let’s Add Another Method

We’ll make our Dog learn a new trick: sit.

class Dog:
    def __init__(self, name):
        self.name = name

    def bark(self):
        print(self.name + " says Woof!")

    def sit(self):
        print(self.name + " sits down.")

dog = Dog("Charlie")
dog.bark()
dog.sit()

Output

Charlie says Woof!
Charlie sits down.

Understanding the Magic Word self

self is used to refer to the current object. It lets each object keep its own data separate from other objects.

What’s Next in OOP?

Once you understand classes and objects, you can explore more OOP features:

• Inheritance: One class can use features of another class.
• Encapsulation: Hiding internal details of objects.
• Polymorphism: Same method name doing different things.

Summary

• OOP is about creating objects from classes.
• Each object can have its own data and functions (methods).
• You can use OOP to write cleaner and more structured code.

Now that you’ve taken your first step into OOP, you're ready to explore how to use it to build real-world programs in Python!