What is the Difference Between OOP and POP?

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The main difference between Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) and Procedural Oriented Programming (POP) lies in their approach to designing a program and their focus on data and functions. Here are the key differences between OOP and POP:

  1. Approach: OOP follows a bottom-up approach, while POP follows a top-down approach.
  2. Division: In OOP, a program is divided into objects and their interactions, whereas in POP, a program is divided into functions and their interactions.
  3. Inheritance: OOP supports inheritance, allowing objects to inherit properties and methods from other objects. POP does not support inheritance.
  4. Access Control: OOP uses access modifiers to control access to data and functions. POP does not use access modifiers, and data is globally accessible.
  5. Data Hiding: OOP uses encapsulation to hide data, ensuring that it can only be accessed by the functions associated with the object. POP does not have data hiding, as data is global and can be accessed by any function.
  6. Examples: OOP is supported by languages like C++, Java, and Python. POP is supported by languages like Pascal and Fortran.

In summary, OOP focuses on objects and their properties, using a bottom-up approach and supporting inheritance and access control, while POP focuses on functions and their interactions, using a top-down approach and not supporting inheritance or access control.

Comparative Table: OOP vs POP

The main difference between Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) and Procedural-Oriented Programming (POP) lies in their approach to organizing code and handling data. Here's a comparison table highlighting the key differences between OOP and POP:

Feature OOP POP
Focus Data security, Encapsulation, and Inheritance Task-oriented, functions
Program Structure Divides into objects Divides into functions
Access Control Access specifiers (Public, Private, Protected) No specific access modes
Data Hiding Encapsulation used to hide data No data hiding
Inheritance Supports inheritance Does not support inheritance
Virtual Functions Supports virtual functions Does not support virtual functions
Real-World Problem Solving Better at modeling real-world problems Less effective at modeling real-world problems
Security More secure due to data hiding and access control Less secure due to global data and lack of access control
Examples C++, Java, Python, JavaScript, C# C, Pascal

OOP is more focused on data security, encapsulation, and inheritance, while POP is focused on tasks and functions. OOP divides a program into objects, while POP divides a program into smaller procedures or functions. OOP supports access control through access specifiers, encapsulation for data hiding, and inheritance, while POP does not provide these features.