2 months ago
- Object-oriented programming (OOP) is currently popular, but some smart programmers are unenthusiastic about it.
- OOP is useful in some cases, but not necessary for every program; defining new types shouldn't be the only way to express programs.
- There are five reasons people like OOP: it compensates for limitations in statically-typed languages without closures or macros; it suits large companies with mediocre programmers by imposing discipline (though bloated code results); it generates apparent work by encouraging excessive scaffolding; it allows extensibility if the language itself is OOP; and it maps well to specific domains like simulations and CAD.
- The author personally has never needed OOP, even in Common Lisp with its powerful object system, and warns against including features in languages based on untested assumptions.