Beyond the Basic Stuff with Python

15 Object-Oriented Programming and Classes

OOP is a programming language feature that allows you to group variables and functions together into new data types, called classes, from which you can create objects. By organizing your code into classes, you can break down a monolithic program into smaller parts that are easier to understand and debug.

For small programs, OOP doesn’t add organization so much as it adds bureaucracy. Although some languages, such as Java, require you to organize all your code into classes, Python’s OOP features are optional. Programmers can take advantage of classes if they need them or ignore them if they don’t. ...