Intro to Computer Science Project—Object-Oriented Programming
ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW
In this assignment you’ll be creating a short program called oop.py, which will define a class with
attributes, accessor methods, and mutator methods, and include a brief example of using an object of that
class in a main program.
This assignment is worth 50 points and is due on the crashwhite.polytechnic.org server at 23:59:59 on the
date given in class.
BACKGROUND
Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a style of programming that organizes data, and the programs
that manipulate that data, into objects that are organized into classes. Each object has attributes—values that
describe the object—and methods—things that the object can "do". Methods may be accessor methods that
allow you to examine the object’s attributes, or mutator methods which cause a change in an object’s
attributes.
Object-oriented programming is built into Python—print "Hi there".capitalize() is a quick example
of using an object, where the string object "Hi there" is retrieved by the accessor method
.capitalize(). You may not have known you were using an object, and that’s partly the point of OOP
—a well-written program will allow you to manipulate objects without having to worry too much about
what’s happening behind the scenes, hidden in the "black box" of the class. This ability to conceal some of
the underlying details of coding is called encapsulation.
Python provides ready-made classes (like int, str, and list) that can be manipulated using ready-made
methods (like float, len(), and .pop() ). The real power of objects, however, comes when a
programmer is able to custom-design a class, often to represent a model of some Real World object. Some
examples:
•A BankAccount class could be used to store and manipulate data for a series of bank account
objects
•A Planet class could be used to store and manipulate data for a planet object that revolves around
a star.
•A Contact class could be used to store and manipulate data for a contact object in an address
book.
•A Frog class could be used to store and manipulate data for... a frog.
PROGRAM SPECIFICATION
Create a Python program that:
a. creates a user-defined class that can be used by a program to establish and manipulate some
sample objects
b. includes a constructor class that establishes an object of the given class
c. includes at least three accessor methods for accessing the attributes of the class
d. includes at least two mutator methods for altering attributes of the class
e. includes a main() program that uses the class to create an object, and manipulate it using its
accessor and mutator methods
