Western Governors University (WGU) ITSW 2113 D278 Scripting and Programming Foundations Practice Exam

Object-oriented programming (OOP) primarily focuses on the concepts of encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism, which are fundamental principles that define how this programming paradigm operates.

Encapsulation refers to the bundling of data and methods that operate on that data within a single unit, typically called an object. This helps in protecting the state of the object from unintended interference and misuse by restricting access to some of its components.

Inheritance allows a new class to inherit properties and behavior (methods) from an existing class. This promotes code reusability and establishes a hierarchical relationship between classes, enabling a structured approach in coding by allowing shared functionality.

Polymorphism enables objects to be treated as instances of their parent class, allowing a single interface to represent different underlying forms (data types). This means that a function can work in different ways based on the object it is being applied to, which enhances flexibility and the ability to extend functionality in code without modifying existing implementations.

Together, these principles make object-oriented programming a powerful approach for structuring code in a way that is manageable, reusable, and adaptable.