For many PHP programmers, object oriented programming is an intimidating concept,

because it introduces new syntax and seemingly complex terminology.

At a glance, object oriented programming can appear to be far more complex

than simple procedural or inline code.

However, this doesn't have to be the case.

As you'll see, object oriented programming

is actually similar to the way we perceive the real world.

That means an object oriented approach

can help you visualize the solution to a problem more easily.

Object oriented programming or OOP for short, is a style of coding that

allows developers to group similar tasks into containers.

In php, containers are defined using classes.

A class contains all the functions and variables that define an object.

These functions are called methods and the variables are called properties.

[SOUND] To give you a real world example of this, let's take a look at a house.

A house defined by a blueprint which shows the layout, rooms and

exact design for the house.

Each house has attributes like walls, a roof, windows and doors.

They also have actions such as open the door or turn on the light.

The blueprint could be the class.

It's not a house itself, but it describes how a house should be built,

with relationships between the different parts of the house clearly defined and

planned out.

The walls, roof, windows, and doors are properties.

While opening the door and turning on the lights are methods.

As I just mentioned a blueprint is not a house.

But you use a blueprint to build new houses.

Each time a new house is built, we create a new object, a house object.

If our blueprint is a class named house,

we can build an entire subdivision of houses based on this blueprint.

This is called instantiating an object or creating an instance of an object.

Each house object shares the properties and methods of the house class.

But the individual values for each house may be different.

My house may have brown walls and a red roof.

While your house could have white walls and a blue roof.

Grouping code into these containers, or classes, can make it easier to

follow the tenant, don't repeat yourself, or D-R-Y, dry for short.

One of the major benefits in following the DRY principle is that,

if a piece of information changes in your program,

you usually only need to change the code in one place.

One of the biggest nightmares for developers,

is maintaining code where data is declared over and over again.

If something goes wrong tracking down the error can be like looking for

a needle in a haystack.

As you hunt for duplicated data and

functionality, sometimes finding that needle can be painful.

This course is designed to teach you the why and

how of object oriented programming.

Before we jump feet first into the how,

let's get a little more familiar with the why.