Teaching Object-Oriented and Functional Paradigms in Software Engineering/development
Mario Piattini
In the Information System (IS) development the so-called ''functional'' or "structured" paradigm has been traditionally used. Since the beginning of the last decade we have witnessed the publication of the "object-oriented" paradigm. Several authors have affirmed that object-oriented methodologies are "superior" and easier to learn than structured ones. We carried out research comparing the two paradigms as teaching methods for IS analysis and design. Our hypothesis was that object-orientation is a more effective method for teaching these system development concepts. But in our research this hypothesis has not been supported. A discussion of the reasons of this result and implications for future research arepresented.
Mario Piattini holds a PhD and a MSC in computer science from Madrid Technical University. He has been director of the development department of SiB and partner and founder of Cronos Iberica, SA, where he has been director of the Training and Methodologies and Research and Development departments. Dr. Piattini has also worked as a consultant in various organizations and companies such as Ministerio de Industria y Engergfa, Ministerio de Administratciones Publicas, Ministerio de Interior, Siemens-Nixdorf, Unisys, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, ICM, and Atos-Ods, He is associate professor at the Escuela Superior de Informatica of the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha at Ciudad Real, where he leads the Alarcos Research Group, which specializes in information systems, databases, and software engineering. Dr. Piattini has authored ten books on these subjects and several papers in national and international conferences and magazines. He belongs to several professional organizations and is a member of the DINTEL Foundation.
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