Programming paradigms are different approaches that are taken to provide solutions for a variety of tasks. It consists of various rules, strategies and principles that a software developer can utilise to develop new software or enhance the efficacy of an existing one. Out of the various programming paradigms out there, Object-oriented programming and functional programming are two very important but different approaches to programming.
All the programming languages follow at least a particular programming paradigm or are a composition of a few of them. It is upon the needs of the software and the discretion of the developer which programming paradigm is to be used.
Read on to know about object-oriented programming and functional programming along with their differences.
What is Object-oriented Programming?
Object-oriented programming is a type of programming paradigm that works on the basis of classes and objects. Developers, in object-oriented programming, write codes that are then classified into various classes and as various objects. Developers majorly use OOP for data frame manipulation as it is well suited for the task.
Classes are blueprints or a particular set of instructions used to build a data structure for each of the objects in a specific manner. Objects are categorised based on the variables that they contain and function in the way variables behave.
Object-oriented programming is concerned with determining the operation and performance of the variables. It can be said that classes serve as templates to build objects and the objects are instances of those particular classes. Additionally, objects also contain codes in the form of procedures and data in the form of fields. It is also known as attributes and methods.
What is Functional Programming?
Functional programming is a programming paradigm that is declarative in nature. Developers use functional programming to write codes only in pure functions. Codes in pure functions imply that functional programming does not alter old variables into new characters but only generates new variables.
Functional programming is great for data visualisation but cannot conveniently be used for data frame manipulation. It can be said that pure functions cannot be influenced by external factors and the result is only based on the input parameters. Additionally, functional programming helps in avoiding mutable and shared data.
Functional programming is very beneficial for developers to write codes for developing new applications and building new frameworks. Functional programming is so popular because of a key advantage that it creates clean and maintainable software by using pure functions which are essential for developers.
Distinctions Between Object-oriented Programming and Functional Programming
OOPS concepts in programming are very different from functional programming concepts. the key differences between the two programming paradigms can be enumerated as follows:
Definition
Object-oriented programming is a programming algorithm that is based on the concept of objects and classes.
On the other hand, functional programming is a programming paradigm that is concerned with the concept of pure functions and stresses the evaluation of functions.
Data
Object-oriented programming always uses mutable objects and data. Mutable data is the one where the data and the objects can be modified later after it has been already created.
On the contrary, functional programming always uses immutable data and objects. Immutable data and objects mean once the object has been created it cannot be modified at a later stage.
Model
Object-oriented programming sticks to an imperative programming model and follows the rules and procedures of the same. The imperative programming model means the model that relies upon a series of statements that can modify the state of the program at a later stage. However, a detailed description has to be provided for each of the stages on how to reach the desired objective.
Whereas, functional programming always follows the rules and procedures of the declarative programming model. The declarative programming model, as the name suggests, is a programming paradigm that commands what the target of the program is. It just declares what the result should be without stating how to obtain it. It does not specifically state how to run the program step by step throughout the control flow.
Support
Parallel programming is not supported by object-oriented programming. This is a major drawback of object-oriented programming. parallel programming is a type of computation that allows developers to calculate and proceed with the codes simultaneously. It helps in dividing large programming problems into smaller units which helps it easier to identify the glitch and solve it.
On the other hand, a very big advantage of functional programming is that it supports parallel programming. Hence, it is easier for developers to move ahead with the codes without getting stuck on a particular problem in a specific area.
Execution
Object-oriented programming executes properly when the statements are arranged in a specific order.
On the contrary, developers do not have to maintain any particular order in functional programming for it to reach proper execution.
Iteration
Object-oriented programming generates iterative data in a loop and the computation takes place as a means of obtaining appropriate results.
Whereas functional programming does not use iterative data for computation. However, only recursion is used for iteration in functional programming.
Element
object-oriented programming consists of two major elements which are objects and classes.
On the other hand, the major elements of functional programming are functions and variables.
Usage
Object-oriented programming is used for carrying out a few operations that involve common behaviour with distinct variables.
On the contrary, functional programming is used for carrying out multiple and dynamic operations where there are fixed data.
Conclusion
Object-oriented programming and functional programming are two different approaches to programming but both are widely used and very popular. Despite having distinct ways of developing applications both techniques have proven to be very beneficial for developers. Both techniques help developers to create top-quality applications with enhanced efficacy.
Both OOP concepts in programming and functional programming have different sets of rules, strategies and procedures and that is why many developers use the hybrid approach to application development. It helps developers to get the best of both techniques.
If you wish to learn Data Science, application development and various types of machine learning techniques, then the Postgraduate Programme in Data Science and Analytics by Imarticus can be your guiding light. Sign up for the course to get the best results.
