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copied!<p>OOP allows you to create structured containers of code, called classes, which can be parents/children of one another. This can help with building an application as it is easier to maintain and can, if done properly reduce code redundancy. OOP does add a bit overhead but it isn't really noticeable and is outweighed by the unmaintainablity of procedural code. If your writing a big app, def go OO, especially if it is going to be worked on by many people.</p> <p>For example, say you are designing a simple website. You could create a Page object. The page object is responsible for going to the database and getting various settings for the page, such as meta data, title tags, or even the number of certain "components" on the page and their type (such as a calendar control, a widget, etc).</p> <p>Then, you can create another class, say Index, that extends Page. Index would be the index or home page. If you had a catalog of products, you could have Catalog class extend page. Since both your catalog section and your homepage need to get data from the database concerning the metadata of the page and the basic construction of the page, having 1 object that does it already for you helps. In both of these situations, page does all the work and gets the page data from the database, loads it into variables, which are then accessible in both your index class and your catalog class. You don't have to write code to go into the database and get it again in each page you write. </p> <p>Now there are other ways to do this procedurally, such as with an includes. However, you will find yourself making less mistakes and errors. For example, you can define an abstract method in your Page class. This means that this method MUST be defined in any object that extends it. So say you created a setPageAttributes() function as abstract in your Page class. When you do this you create an empty function. When you create your index class, you HAVE TO create a setPageAttributes() function (with the intent on filling it in, such as accessing the variables defined in the Page class and using it to set the actual elements on the page, template, or view you are using) or you get a PHP error. </p> <p>If you are working with other people to get your project written, abstract methods will tell the person, "Hey, you need to define these functions in any code you write". This forced the application to be consistent.</p> <p>Finally, you cannot go to frameworks such as MVC formats if you do not do OOP. While it is not necessary to go to MVC and there is some debate, it does separate out all the components of the application and is necessary in environments where many people (designers, coders, marketing employees) work on the same code.</p>

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