C# for Financial Markets

Appendix 1

Object-oriented Fundamentals

A1.1 INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

In this appendix we give a short introduction to the object-oriented programming model (also known as the object-oriented paradigm). The most important issues are to define the concepts of class and object. In general, we build C# applications as networks of objects with each object having a well-defined responsibility. This approach is different from the procedural programming model that is found in languages such as Matlab and VBA, for example. In order to make a smooth transition from the procedural model to the object-oriented model we have included a number of examples that we shall discuss in the following sections.

This appendix is for the benefit of readers who do not have experience of object-oriented programming.

A1.2 OBJECT-ORIENTED PARADIGM

This paradigm is based on the concept of a class. Classes have their origins in philosophy, logic and cognitive psychology (Eysenck and Keane 2000). In particular, the theory of concepts has been an important influence on the development of the object paradigm. There are a number of theories, one of which is the defining attribute view. This view was developed by the German logician Gottlob Frege (Frege 1952). Frege maintained that a concept can be characterised by a set of defining attributes or semantic features. He distinguished between a concept's intension and extension. The intension of a concept consists of the set of attributes that determine what it ...