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Object-Oriented Design

Object-Oriented Design Concept

Object-Oriented Design provides a way to elicit and format human "KNOWLEDGE" in a way that a computer can process.

Accurate, complete, and a surprisingly high level of complexity in knowledge can be represented by using only 2 components:

1. Attributes

2. Behavior

In addition, there are 3 basic relationships in the design process:

1. Has-A (Composition relationship)

2. Is-A (Inheritance relationship)

3. Uses (Interaction relationship)

As you develop an OOD remember:

• OOD's are effective as a knowledge engineering and acquisition method in a situation where you have little or no understanding of the problem or environment you are working with.

• OOD's help in manifesting elements which contribute to the solution to the problem. They suppress elements which either confuse the understanding or contribute nothing to attaining a solution to the problem

• OOD's help in communicating understanding of a problem to others in a graphical and easy to understand format.

• OOD's are structured so a computer can use the knowledge.

Object-Oriented Design Process (4 Basic Steps)

At the conclusion of this procedure you will have an OOD which is a correct and complete representation of the knowledge required to solve the problem. Furthermore, when defined in Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) class definitions the OOD will be in a format which a computer can use.

1. Generate

This step is a brainstorming session in which concepts are developed. Anything and everything is considered or used without constraint.

2. Relate

Now develop the relationships between concepts. The set of concepts are only limited by what you can think of. You may use relations beyond the OOD three to clarify a design.

Process 1:

Process 2:

Process 3:

3. Eliminate

Eliminate the following:

1. Concepts which have no relationship to other concepts

2. Concepts or sub-graphs which contribute nothing to the solution of the problem, even though they are a valid part of the knowledge.

3. Sub-graph islands, which are sub-graphs which you can't fit into the main conceptual graph using a relation.

Concept:

Process:

Result:

4. Iterate

The resulting graph will be incomplete, or incorrect. At this point, go through steps $1-3$$1-3$ again and

1. Find missing information

2. Elaborate on concepts which require sub-graphs to fully represent

3. Correct misunderstandings of the problem and errors in the knowledge representation

References

Rheinfurth, K. (2022, November 8). Object-Oriented Design [Presentation]. University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL, United States.