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Discussion on: Object-Oriented Programming (OOP): Understand the 4 Pillars with Clear Examples

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decorator-factory

Do you know where this specific list of four pillars originates from? I see it repeated very often, but I never found where it comes from.

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Paulo Messias

The concept of the ‘four pillars of Object-Oriented Programming’ originates from the need to simplify and organize the core principles of OOP for educational purposes. While the term ‘four pillars’ isn’t attributed to a specific source, these concepts are deeply rooted in the early development of OOP, particularly in languages like Smalltalk, which Alan Kay helped pioneer. Over time, books and courses have adopted this structure to make learning OOP more approachable for beginners

Basically they emerged as a teaching framework to explain OOP fundamentals, popularized through books and courses. Alan Kay, who coined the term OOP, emphasized object interaction more, but the concept of pillars became widely adopted over time as a simple way to teach these principles.