object-oriented programming (OOP)

A type of programming that combines data structures with functions to create reusable objects. It works something like this: Programmers can create modules that do not need to be changed when a new type of object is added; instead, one can simply create a new object that inherits many of its features from existing objects. This inheritance relationship between objects makes object-oriented programs easier to modify than procedural programming techniques.

The most popular object-oriented programming languages are Java and C++. There is also UML (Unified Modeling Language) which is the industry-standard language for specifying, visualizing, constructing, and documenting the artifacts of software systems. It simplifies the complex process of software design, making a "blueprint" for construction.

"Object-oriented" can also be used to describe a system that primarily deals with different types of objects, where the actions you take depend on what type of object you are manipulating. For example, an object-oriented graphics program might enable you to draw many types of objects, such as circles, rectangles, and triangles. Applying the same action to each of these objects, however, would produce different results. If the action is "Make 3-D," for instance, the result would be a sphere, a box, and a pyramid, respectively.

Object-oriented graphics are also called vector graphics.