This chapter applies a different programming paradigm to G: Object-Oriented Programming
(OOP). New languages like Java and its use on the Internet have created
a lot of interest in this programming paradigm. This chapter explains the concepts
that make object-oriented programming work, and applies them to programming in
LabVIEW.
This chapter begins with definitions of objects and classes. These are the fundamental
building blocks of OOP. Key definitions that define OOP are then presented
which give a foundation for programmers to view applications in terms of their
constituent objects.
Once the basics of OOP are described, the first stage of objects is presented--
object analysis. Fundamentally, the beginning of the design is to identify the objects
of the system. Section 10.4 discusses Object Design, the process by which methods
and properties are specified. The interaction of objects is also defined in the design
phase. The third and last phase is the Object Programming phase. This is where the
code to implement the methods and properties is performed.
This type of structuring seems foreign or even backward to many programmers
with experience in structured languages such as LabVIEW. Object-oriented is how
programming is currently being taught to computer science and engineering students
around the world. A significant amount of effort has been put into the design of a
process to produce high-quality software. This section introduces this type of philosophy
to LabVIEW graphical programming.