Industrial Perspectives on the Impact of Object-Oriented Programming for SoftwareDevelopment

International Journal of Information and Computer Science (IJICS) Volume 4, 2015 doi: 10.14355/ijics.2015.04.008

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Industrial Perspectives on the Impact of Object-Oriented Programming for SoftwareDevelopment Bassey Akpan1, Amos O Olagunju2 Division of Natural and Computational Sciences, Texas College, Tyler, USA Computer Science and Information Technology, St. Cloud State University, USA

1 2

bakpan@texascollege.edu; 2aoolagunju@stcloudstate.edu

1

Abstract This study assessed the impact of object-oriented programming on the quality and reusability of software development. The degree to which object-oriented programming is prevalent over structured and other traditional programming in the software development phase at business organizations was investigated. This research examined the extent to which business organizations use object-oriented approach in software development. A number of professionals from the industries were surveyed to ascertain the relevance of advocating the incorporation of the object-oriented approach into computer science and information technology curriculums.

Keywords Object-Oriented Programming; Structured Programming; Software Development; Reusability; Curriculum Design

Introduction The development of information systems is a multifaceted, pricey, and risky endeavor. Thus, organizations often invest in tools and technologies for managing complexity and mitigating risks associated with information system development. The software development community has been capitalizing on the benefits of object-orientation for years. Software developers foresee object-orientation as a tool for potentially alleviating technical issues of structured programming – timely software production, fewer maintenance problems, flexibility in software modification, and enhanced software quality. The adoption of object-orientation methodologies continues to progress slowly, in spite of their perceived benefits [6].

The inception of object-orientation technology started in the late 1960s with simulation programming languages such as Simula 67 developed by Ole-Johan Dahl and Kristen Nygaard of Norwegian Computing Center in Oslo [13]. The idea of using objects to simulate real-world entities was introduced in Simula. In the early 1970s, Alan Kay developed the SmallTalk programming language that promoted the use of software objects for simulating real-world objects [13]; other object-oriented programming language, such as C++ and Eiffel, emerged in the mid 1980s.

The question naturally arises on the popularity of the object-oriented technology after a long period of obscurity.

Object-oriented technology offers possible solutions to many problems confronting corporations. Software is difficult to develop, modify, and maintain. Most software projects are delivered late and over budget.

Programmers are continuing to create new software codes for new applications because of limitations in code reusability. In spite of these issues, corporations are challenged to explore novel approaches for developing costeffective, efficient software for timely release and delivery. Organizations have used the structured programming approach to develop software for decades [11]. Structured programming significantly improved software quality via a top-down, modular decomposition approach. However, structured programming style poses major problems in the development of large systems. For example, designs errors detected in already progressing software implementation might require costly software reconstruction.

Object-oriented programming and structured programming are different in the management of data and methods.

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In structured programming data and methods are maintained separately; usually all data is declared prior to presenting the methods, making it difficult to identify specific data and methods. However, in object-oriented programming the associated data and methods of an object are housed within a class [11]. The design of a system could be modeled at a higher level in the object-oriented approach. Design problems can be identified and fixed at specific levels of objects. Object-orientation has gained popularity in industry because it promotes the understanding of a system as objects rather than procedures. The magnitude and nature of the differences between object-oriented programming and structured programming exist. There are researchers who perceive objectorientation as essentially a development from structured programming approach [2]. Others assert that objectorientation is an entirely new approach and way of thinking [4]. Organizations need an understanding of the object-oriented concepts for decision making in efforts to shift from the structured approach to object-oriented approach. Organizations ought to understand the benefits of the object-oriented phenomenon and its conceptual relationships to structured viewpoints, for a successful software redesign and implementation.

This research investigated whether or not object-orientation, after years of extensive literatures outlined its tremendous advantages over the structured approach, has obliterated the use of structured approach in software development. The term object-orientation in this paper refers to object-oriented analysis, object-oriented design, and object-oriented programming. The term structured technique or structured approach refers to structured analysis, structured design, and structured programming. Several researchers had contrasted object-orientation with the structured approach in terms of analysis, design and programming in the software life cycle [1, 2, 7, 10, 12].

Previous research investigations had used Author Co-Citation Analysis to compare the object-orientation approach with structured approach [5, 8, 9, 15]. However, in an effort to derive evidence for advocating the incorporation of the object-orientation approach into computer science and information technology curriculums this study investigated the extent to which object-orientation is utilized by business organizations.

Perhaps object-oriented programming is going to continue to be the solution for solving the lingering problems of design, development, and production of quality and reliable software products, to meet the goals and increase productivity of organizations. Are business organizations employing the characteristics of object-oriented approach in the design and development software? Have organizations been replacing the structural approaches with object-oriented approaches to utilize all the benefits of object-orientation technologies? To what extent are organizations achieving the qualities of object-oriented development emphasized in the literature?

Methodology An online Internet-based survey questionnaire was designed to solicit the opinions information systems managers on the characteristics of software development. The survey instrument included demographic data such as education level, gender, current position, and experience level. In the questionnaire the respondents provided pertinent information about software such as the type of approach used for design and implementation, quality of the software products, reusability strategy, cost, time and flexibility regarding software development in their organizations. We assumed that information systems managers were too busy to respond hardcopy questionnaires and personal interviews. Consequently we emailed the link of survey instrument to managers in charge of software development at selected business organizations.

Limitations The heterogeneous nature of the sample of information systems executives used in this study is a threat to the validity of the results. The use of self-reporting method to obtain data about programming approaches to software development at specific organizations limits the generalization of the results. The variations in the budgets, revenues and sizes of organizations might confound the survey results. It is unclear if the perceptions of the sampled information systems executive are accurate and representative of their departments. The number of the information systems managers who responded to the survey was limited. This limitation could have biased the results because several knowledgeable information systems managers of software development might not have participated in the survey due to time constraints. This research targeted Fortune 1000 companies, a group not likely not to participate in this type of research.

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Procedures and Data Analysis Partaker organizations were systematically sampled from the directory of top computer organizations in the United States of America in the Fortune 1000 list. Every fifth organization in the list was selected and the survey was emailed to each of the top information systems manager in the sample. The survey instrument included a cover letter that explained the study and outlined the permission agreement. Postcard notes and email messages were sent every three weeks throughout the duration of the data collection phase, to remind the managers about the survey. A pilot study was conducted with organizations not included in the sample to validate the completeness and preciseness of the survey questions.

Surveys were e-mailed to 1,000 information systems managers in the United of America. All returned questionnaires were reviewed for completeness. All surveys that failed to provide information about the utilization of object-oriented programming were purged from the data repository. We maintained the integrity of database and all raw data. We provided confidentiality of the subjects throughout data collection, analysis and reporting phases. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to perform all data analyses.

The percentages, frequency distributions and graphs were generated to provide the interpretation of the survey items.

Results and Interpretation Manager and Organization Profiles Table 1 contains the sample size and response rates of the survey. Out of 1,000 surveys e-mailed, 200 surveys were returned due to incorrect e-mail addresses or were not delivered due to Spam. One hundred indicated they did not participate in such research surveys either because of time involved or object-oriented programming was not in their areas of expertise. Thus, a total of 700 organizations constituted the original sample pool. One hundred and eighty valid survey responses were returned; this accounts for the response rate of 25.7 percent.

Table 2 displays the gender of the information systems executives. One hundred percent of those executives who indicated their gender is male. This finding is disturbing since we expected female managers to participate in this project. Perhaps the industry needs to promote more females as information systems executives.

Table 3 provides the frequency distribution of the education levels of information systems executives. Fifty-one respondents or 41.8 percent held an undergraduate degree, 41 respondents or 33.6 percent held a master degree, 23 respondents or 18.6 percent held a doctorate degree, and 7 respondents or 5.7 percent held other types of certificates. The majority of the executives had education beyond the undergraduate degree.

Table 4 displays the frequency distribution of the full time employees at the organization where the executive worked. Twenty-six organizations or 21.5 percent had less than 50 employees; 33 organizations or 27.3 percent had between 51 to 100 employees, 42 organizations or 34.7 percent had between 101 to 500 employees; 16 organizations or 13.2 percent had between 501 to 1,000 employees; 4 organizations or 3.3 percent had between 1,001 to 5,000 employees; and no organization had over 5,000 employees. The majority of the organizations had less than 500 employees.

Table 5 is the frequency distribution of the positions the executives held at the time they completed the survey. Ten respondents or 7.8 percent held the position of VP of Technology Services; 4 respondents or 3.1 percent held the position of Director of Software Development; 50 respondents or 38.8 percent held the position of VP of Information Systems; 62 respondents or 48.1 percent held the position of VP of Software Development; and 3 respondents or 2.3 percent held other positions. The majority of the executives were vice presidents.

TABLE 1: SAMPLE SIZE AND RESPONSE RATES

Total

ISS

IA

MNP

FSS

NSR

RR

1,000

200

100

700

180

25.7

Where ISS= Initial Sample Size; IA = Incorrect Address; MNP= Managers not participating FSS= Final Sample Size; NSR= Number of Surveys returned; RR = Percentage of Response Rate

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TABLE 2: GENDER

Gender Male Female Total

Freq.

120 0 120

% 100.00 0.00 100

Graph

Graph

TABLE 3: LEVEL OF EDUCATION

Degree Undergraduate

Freq.

51

% 41.80

Master's Doctorate

41 23

33.61 18.85

Other Total

7 122

5.74 100

TABLE 4: TOTAL FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES

Employees

Freq.

%

Fewer than 50 51 to 100 101 to 500 501 to 1,000 1,001 to 5,000 5,001 to 10,000 More than 10,000 Total

26 33 42 16 4 0 0 121

21.49 27.27 34.71 13.22 3.31 0.00 0.00 100

Graph

TABLE 5: CURRENT POSITION

Position VP Technology Services Direct Software Development VP Information Systems VP Software Development Other Total

Freq.

10 4 50 62 3 129

% 7.75 3.10 38.76 48.06 2.33 100

Graph

Software Activities and Programming Approach Table 6 shows the frequency distribution of the types of software activities in which the organizations were engaged. Note that an organization might be engaged in different types of software activities. One hundred and nine respondents or 25.65 percent were engaged in software requirements; 105 respondents or 24.71 percent designed software; 115 respondents or 27.09 percent developed software; 94 respondents or 22.12 percent maintained software; and 2 respondents or 0.47 percent were engaged in other types of software activities.

Table 7 illustrates the frequency distribution of the programming approaches utilized at the organizations of the executives. One hundred and nineteen managers or 66.9 percent indicated that they used an object oriented approach within their organizations; 53 managers or 29.8 percent indicated the use of a structured approach; 4 managers or 2.3 percent expressed they used a traditional approach; 2 managers or 1.1 percent specified the use of other approaches. Although the majority of the organizations used the object-oriented approach, the structured and traditional are still in use perhaps because the legacy software systems built long ago are still maintained.

Table 8 is the frequency distribution of the ratings of the approaches in use at the organizations of the information systems executives. One hundred and four points or 87 percent was allotted to object-oriented programming; 13 points or 10 percent was assigned to structured programming; 2 points or 2 percent was allocated to traditional approach; 1 point or 1 percent was allotted to other approaches.

Table 9 illuminates the frequency distribution of the frequently used programming languages at the organizations of the executives. Forty-four organizations or 24 percent used C/C++; 94 organizations or 51 percent used Java; 17 organizations or 9 percent used Visual Basic; 21 organizations or 11 percent used object-oriented; while 10

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organizations or 5 percent indicated that they used other languages. The majority of the organizations used at least one object-oriented language.

Table 10 contains information on the migration of software development from structured approach to objectoriented approach. Ninety-eight organizations or 82 percent have already switched to an object-oriented approach while 21 organizations or 18 percent maintained their structured approach.

TABLE 6: SOFTWARE ACTIVITY

Activity Software requirements Software design Software Development Software maintenance Other Total

Freq.

109 105 115 94 2 425

% 25.65 24.71 27.06 22.12 0.47 100

Graph

TABLE 7: PROGRAMMING APPROACH

Approach Object-Oriented Structured Traditional Other Total

Freq.

119 53 4 2 178

% 66.85 29.78 2.25 1.12 100

Graph

TABLE 8: RATINGS OF USAGE

Programming Object-Oriented Structured Traditional approach Other approach Total

Freq.

104 13 2 1 120

% 86.81 10.28 1.86 1.05 100

Graph

TABLE 9: PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE

Language C/C++ Java Visual Basic Object-Oriented Other Total

Freq.

44 94 17 21 10 186

% 23.66 50.54 9.14 11.29 5.38 100

Graph

TABLE 10: MOVED TO OBJECT-ORIENTED

Response Yes No Total

Freq.

98 21 119

% 82.35 17.65 100

Graph

Satisfaction and Agreement with Object-Oriented Programming Table 11 shows the frequency distribution of the extent to which the managers were satisfied with the objectoriented programming. Thirty-seven managers or 31 percent indicated that they were very satisfied with objectoriented programming; 72 managers or 61 percent indicated that they were satisfied; 10 mangers or 8 percent indicated that this approach could be improved. The majority of the managers were at least satisfied with the object-oriented programming.

Is object-oriented programming a better approach than structured programming? The frequency distribution of the ratings by the manager is presented in Table 12. Forty-four managers or 36 percent strongly agreed that objectoriented programming is a better approach; 68 managers or 56 percent agreed; 9 mangers or 7 percent were neutral; only 1 manager or 1 percent strongly disagreed. The majority of the manager at least agreed that object-oriented programming is better than structured programming.

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Will the use of object-oriented programming save time in meeting the urgent demands of customers? Table 13 contains the levels of agreement by the managers that object-oriented could reduce the time for software development. Thirty-four managers or 28.3 percent strongly agreed; 65 managers or 54.2 percent agreed; 19 managers or 15.8 percent were neutral; only 2 managers or 1.7 percent disagreed.

Do organizations that actually engage in reuse of code believe that object-oriented programming enhances new program development? Table 14 shows the ratings of the reusability of object-oriented programming in improving new software development by the managers. Thirty-three managers or 28 percent strongly agreed that objectoriented programming support reusability, 53 managers or 44 percent agreed, 34 managers or 28 percent were neutral. The majority of the managers at least agreed that object-oriented programming enhanced code reusability.

TABLE 11: SATISFACTION WITH OBJECT-ORIENTED

Response Very satisfied Satisfied Could Improve Dissatisfied Very dissatisfied Total

Freq.

37 72 10 0 0 119

% 31.09 60.50 8.40 0.00 0.00 100

Graph

TABLE 12: PREFERENCE FOR OBJECT-ORIENTED

Rating Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Total

Freq.

44 68 9 0 1 122

% 36.07 55.74 7.38 0.00 0.82 100

Graph

TABLE 13: TIME SAVING APPROACH

Rating Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Total

Freq.

34 65 19 2 0 120

% 28.33 54.17 15.83 1.67 0.00 100

Graph

TABLE 14: USABILITY ENHANCEMENT

Rating Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Total

Freq.

33 53 34 0 0 120

% 27.50 44.17 28.33 0.00 0.00 100

Graph

Response to Open-ended Question The survey contained an open-ended question in which the information systems executives were asked to list the advantages of using object-oriented programming over structured programming. The responses to the advantages of object-oriented programming over structured programming included: margins must be set as follows:

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

Object-oriented programming maps more clearly to object;



Object-oriented programming support better code reusability, especially across multiple products;



Object-oriented programming makes the solution design and implementation easier to communicate and understand;



Object-oriented improves code reuse and maintenance;

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Object-oriented reduces development time, less software bugs, greater reusability;



Object-oriented programming fits well with modern technology;



Object-oriented development methodogies facilitate reusability without cutting and pasting codes-on mudule woeks for multiple systems.

Conclusions The response rate to the survey in this research is low. However, the response rates to the surveys of senior executives are typically low [14]. The survey response rate was just under 30 percent. This response rate is actually quite good, given that senior company executives were required to address strategic software development issues [14].

The Object-Oriented approach involves encapsulating data and code. In the Object-oriented approach all systems applications are viewed as a collection of interlocking objects that allow organizations and end users to easily understand logical entities. In fact the greatest strength of the object-oriented approach to software development is the mechanism it offers for modeling the real world [3]. This enhances the ability to maintain and understand the components of software systems.

The results from this research reveal that top information systems executives of organizations should always remain familiar with the current programming approaches. An understanding of the advantages of the objectoriented methodology would help organizations to improve the quality and cost of software development.

Organizations that still rely on structured or traditional software design ought to consider migration to the objectoriented approach.

Object-oriented approach promotes the reuse of codes and reduces the time for software development. The incorporation of object-oriented methodologies into all computer science and information technology curriculums is vital. It does not matter the language of choice for introducing object-oriented concepts and programming into the curriculum. However, C++, Java and C# are the current candidate languages for introducing object-oriented programming into the curriculum.

REFERENCES

[1]

Bayer, E. A., Smart, C. J. & McLaughlin, W. G. (1990), “Mapping intellectual structure of a scientific subfield through author co-citations”, Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 41, 444-452.

[2]

Booch, G. (1991), “Object-Oriented Design with Applications”, Benjamin Cummings Publishing Company, Inc.

[3]

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[4]

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[5]

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[6]

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[7]

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[8]

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[9]

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[10] Meli, M. (1994), “Object orientation-real or hype?” Data Management Review, 4(7), 24-26.

[11] Montlick, T. (1999), “What is object-oriented software?” http://www.soft-design.com/softinfo/objects.html [12] Page-Jones, M. & Weiss, S. (1991), “Synthesis: An object-oriented analysis and design method”, Journal of Object-Oriented Programming - Focus on Analysis and Design, 133-135.

[13] Taylor, D. A. (1990), “Object-Oriented Technology: A Manager’s Guide”, Addison Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts.

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[14] Venkatraman, N. (1989), “Strategic orientation of business enterprises: The construct, dimensionality, and measurement”, Management Science, 35, 942-962.

[15] White, D. H. (1981), “Author cocitation: A literature measure of intellectual structure”, Journal of the American Society for Information Science (32), 163-171.

Bassey Akpan is a professor and chair of the Division of Natural and Computational Sciences at Texas College located at Tyler, Texas, USA. He received Doctor’s Degree in Information System at Argosy University, USA in 2005. His research area is in computer security, database, and computer human interaction.

Amos O Olagunju is a professor in the Department of Computer Science and Information Technology at St. Cloud State University (SCSU) in Minnesota. He previously served as the interim dean of undergraduate studies for two years at SCSU. Prior to that position, he served as the dean of the School of Graduate Studies and chief research officer at Winston Salem State University in North Carolina. Amos served as the chair of the Mathematics and Computer Science Department, and later the Computing and Information Sciences Department, at Delaware State University (Dover, DE). As Carnegie African Diaspora fellow, he recently helped Caleb University in Nigeria to develop graduate programs in Computer Science. He is a senior member of the ACM. His current research interests are in the areas of bioinformatics, quantitative security risk assessments, cryptography, numerical computing, and artistic storytelling of breakthrough computing algorithms and technologies.

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