OOP Fundamentals

This lesson covers the fundamental building blocks of Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) for the OCR A-Level Computer Science (H446) specification. You will learn about classes, objects, attributes, methods, constructors, and the this/self keyword.

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Classes and Objects

A class is a blueprint or template that defines the structure and behaviour of a type of object. It specifies what attributes (data) and methods (behaviour) objects of that type will have.

An object is a specific instance of a class, created at runtime. Each object has its own set of attribute values.

Term	Definition
Class	A template that defines attributes and methods for a type of object.
Object	A specific instance of a class, with its own attribute values.
Instantiation	The process of creating an object from a class.
Attribute	A variable belonging to an object that stores data about it.
Method	A function defined inside a class that operates on the object's data.

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Defining a Class

Pseudocode (OCR-style)

CLASS Student
    PRIVATE name: STRING
    PRIVATE age: INTEGER
    PRIVATE grades: ARRAY OF INTEGER