Object-oriented programming: The promise and the reality

This article summarizes a workshop organized and conducted by the authors on April 1 and 2, 1993, under the auspices of Portland State University and the Oregon Center for Advanced Technology Education. This workshop provided a uniquely comprehensive and realistic look at the state of the art and practice of object-oriented programming. Issues discussed at the workshop and summarized here include the naturalness of object-oriented technology, reuse potential, programming support and evaluation tools, and the cost of converting to an object-oriented design technology. The findings should be of interest to researchers, organizations, and individuals who are exploring and/or using the object-oriented approach to software development. The article concludes by offering some recommendations for the use of objectoriented technology.