Question

The problem with object-oriented languages is they’ve got all this implicit environment that they carry around with them. You wanted a banana but what you got was a gorilla holding the banana and the entire jungle.

Joe Armstrong, interviewed in Coders at Work

When a programmer says “object”, this is a loaded term. In my profession, objects are a way of life, the subject of holy wars, and a beloved buzzword that still hasn’t quite lost its power.

To an outsider, this is probably a little confusing. Let’s start with a brief history of objects as a programming construct.

This is a book about getting computers to do what you want them to do. Computers are about as common as screwdrivers today, but they contain a lot more hidden complexity and thus are harder to operate and understand. To many, they remain alien, slightly threatening things.