Throughout its history, object-oriented programming (OOP) has experienced significant evolution. From its early concepts to becoming one of the most popular and widely used methodologies in the computer industry.
We couldn’t have a course on object-oriented programming without at least briefly looking at its history. As well as recognizing the people involved in its development.
Origins of Object-Oriented Programming
1960s
The early concepts related to object-oriented programming began to emerge in the 1960s with the creation of the language Simula.
Developed by Ole-Johan Dahl and Kristen Nygaard at the Norwegian Computing Center (Norsk Regnesentral), Simula was originally created for simulations.
Simula 67 was the version of Simula that introduced concepts like classes, objects, and inheritance. Although it wasn’t known by the name “object-oriented” at that time, these fundamental concepts laid the groundwork for future developments.
1970s
In the 1970s, Alan Kay, a researcher at Xerox PARC, coined the term “object-oriented” to describe a programming approach based on simulating biological systems. Kay developed the programming language Smalltalk, which became a major influence in the later development of object-oriented programming.
Smalltalk was the first programming language to fully implement the object-oriented paradigm as we know it today. Smalltalk introduced a number of revolutionary ideas, including message passing between objects, encapsulation, and dynamic inheritance.
Evolution and Popularization
1980s
The 1980s witnessed the growth and popularization of object-oriented programming. Bjarne Stroustrup at AT&T Bell Labs developed C++, a language that evolved from the C language with the addition of object-oriented features.
C++ incorporated classes and objects, as well as constructors, destructors, and operator overloading. Its compatibility with C and its ability to handle both low-level and high-level programming made C++ a popular language in the software industry.
In the same decade, Brad Cox and Tom Love developed Objective-C, combining the object-oriented capabilities of Smalltalk with the C programming language. Objective-C became the primary language for software development on Apple platforms for many years.
Many other languages went on to adopt the object-oriented programming paradigm. For example, Ada, initially developed by the U.S. Department of Defense, also incorporated object-oriented features in its 1995 revision (Ada 95).
1990s
In the 1990s, Java became one of the most influential programming languages in the field of object-oriented programming. Developed by Sun Microsystems (now part of Oracle) and designed by James Gosling and his team, Java combined the syntax of C++ with an object-oriented architecture.
From the same era comes Python, a language that has gained great popularity, created by Guido van Rossum. Although it was not originally designed as a pure object-oriented programming language, the concept was available from its early versions. Over time, it has evolved to improve support for OOP, adapted to its own needs.
Modernity
2000s
C# (❤️), developed by Microsoft as part of its .NET platform, was released in the early 2000s. Influenced by C++ and, very strongly by JavaScript, C# has been adopted as the primary language for development on the .NET platform, including desktop, web, and mobile applications.
2010s and beyond
JavaScript, initially developed in the mid-1990s by Brendan Eich at Netscape, has rapidly evolved to incorporate object-oriented capabilities.
With the introduction of ES6 (ECMAScript 2015), JavaScript became much more object-oriented, with support for classes and inheritance, increasing its use in frontend and backend web development.
Present and Future
Today, Object-Oriented Programming remains the most important paradigm in software development. Its ability to model real-world concepts and its focus on code reusability remains unmatched.
However, OOP is constantly evolving. As it should be, because needs and technologies also change. In programming, there are no “written rules” or an absolute truth. We are learning the best way, as we go.
Thus, aspects such as the best architecture for complex applications can be debated. Some traditional design patterns have fallen out of favor in favor of more modern and flexible approaches.
On the other hand, different programming languages such as Go, Rust, or Dart are constantly emerging and/or gaining popularity. These languages often adopt innovative approaches that challenge established conventions, leading to the exploration of new ways to apply the object-oriented paradigm.
Despite these changes, and this need for continuous adaptation and integration of new ideas and technologies, what you can be sure of is that in the future OOP will remain the fundamental paradigm of software development for many years.