[Year 12 SofDev] object descriptions

[Mark KELLY]

Hi Maggie. I've also long wondered about object descriptions in IT.

The last time I went hunting for examples of them on the web, I came to the
conclusion that they were a timid and endangered type of beast never seen
in the wild, and living only in the protected sanctuary of the IT study
design.

But after a new safari, I've found an example at...

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/iadthelp/v7r0/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.etools.iseries.langref2.doc/disod.html

which might help a bit.  They seem intended to give information about
objects' properties in the same way a data dictionary gives information
about data.

But they still don't seem to breed outside of captivity.

On 3 September 2012 08:04, Sonia McDonald <
Sonia.McDonald at gippslandgs.vic.edu.au> wrote:

>  Hi Maggie,
>
>
>
> In answer to your question, I'll give a bit more info (you may already
> know this)...
>
>
>
> Objects are models of something that can do certain things and have
> certain things done to them. Formally, an object is a collection of data
> and associated behaviours.
>
>
>
> Data in this instance represents the individucal characteristics of a
> certain object. A class of objects can define specific characteristics that
> are shared by all instances of that class. For example, if we have four
> grapes on the table in front of us, each grape may have a different weight.
> The weight is a characteristic called an attribute.
>
>
>
> Behaviours are actions that occur on an object. The behaviours that can be
> performed on a specific class of objects are called methods. Methods are
> like funcitons, they house parameters and values. For example, one grape
> method may have a 'pick' and a 'squeeze' action.
>
>
>
> In this instance, I believe that object descriptions are to describe what
> data and behaviours the objects have.
>
>
>
> I usually get my kids to put it in a table:
>
>
>
> *Object                   Description*
>
> Grape                      Has the 'pick' and 'squeeze' methods.
>
>
>
> Then I get them to further clarify by describing what the methods do in
> pseudocode.
>
>
>
> Hope this helps.
>
>
>
> Kind regards,
>
>
>
> *Sonia McDonald*
>
> Teacher of Information Technology/Multimedia - Garnsey Campus
>
>
>   ------------------------------
> *From:* sofdev-bounces at edulists.com.au [sofdev-bounces at edulists.com.au]
> on behalf of Margaret Iaquinto [iaquinto at ozemail..com.au]
> *Sent:* Sunday, 2 September 2012 12:10 PM
> *To:* SD List
> *Subject:* [Year 12 SofDev] object descriptions
>
>  Would someone out there, who understands heaps about OOP, please give an
> opinion or example of what we should expect from 'object descriptions'?
>
> It is found in the KK for U3O2:
>
> methods of expressing software designs using data dictionaries and data
> structure diagrams, object descriptions and pseudocode
>
>
> Maggie
> (ICT at St Leonards)
>
>
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-- 
Mark Kelly - kel at mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au
Manager of ICT, Reporting, IT Learning Area
McKinnon Secondary College
McKinnon Rd McKinnon 3204, Victoria, Australia
Phone: +613 8520 9085, Fax +613 9578 9253
VCE IT Lecture Notes: http://vceit.com
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--
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