So what did Alan Kay really mean by the term "object-oriented"?

Posted by Charlie Flowers on Programmers See other posts from Programmers or by Charlie Flowers
Published on 2011-02-11T07:11:16Z Indexed on 2012/11/04 11:23 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 460

Filed under:

object-oriented

|

history

Reportedly, Alan Kay is the inventor of the term "object oriented". And he is often quoted as having said that what we call OO today is not what he meant.

For example, I just found this on Google:

I made up the term 'object-oriented', and I can tell you I didn't have C++ in mind

-- Alan Kay, OOPSLA '97

I vaguely remember hearing something pretty insightful about what he did mean. Something along the lines of "message passing".

Do you know what he meant? Can you fill in more details of what he meant and how it differs from today's common OO? Please share some references if you have any.

Thanks.

© Programmers or respective owner

Related posts about object-oriented

I don't get object-oriented programming

as seen on Programmers - Search for 'Programmers'
Note: this question is an edited excerpt from a blog posting I wrote a few months ago. After placing a link to the blog in a comment on Programmers.SE someone requested that I post a question here so that they could answer it. This posting is my most popular, as people seem to type "I don't get… >>> More
I don't get object-oriented programming

as seen on Programmers - Search for 'Programmers'
Note: this question is an edited excerpt from a blog posting I wrote a few months ago. After placing a link to the blog in a comment on Programmers.SE someone requested that I post a question here so that they could answer it. This posting is my most popular, as people seem to type "I don't get… >>> More
Why did object-oriented paradigms take so long to go mainstream?

as seen on Programmers - Search for 'Programmers'
I read this question and it got me thinking about another fairly recent thing. Object oriented languages. I'm not sure when the first one was created, but why did it take so long before they became mainstream? C became vastly popular, but didn't become the object-oriented C++ for years(decades… >>> More
which metric(s) show the difference between object-oriented and procedural code

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
Which metric(s) could help to indicate that i have procedural code instead of object-oriented code? I would like to have a set of simple metrics, which indicate with a high probability, that the analyzed code contains procedural transaction scripts and an anemic domain model instead of following sound… >>> More
Is learning the Caché database hard coming from relational databases and object oriented programming

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
I am currently running the local version of Caché on my system in order to determine if I can (and will) take on a new possible project. The current project uses Delphi 7 as a front end calling a Caché dll where the business logic is stored in the database. I have a background of Sqlserver and Firebird… >>> More

Related posts about history

Retrieving Chrome History and History Archives for Mac

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
I've read some articles here that suggest that we are able to retrieve Chrome's history as SQLite databases: Export history from chome browser How can I view "archived" Google Chrome history — i.e. history older than three months? I can't seem to find the folder where these are supposed… >>> More
Jquery history, inspect the history stack

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
Im using this history jquery plugin http://www.mikage.to/jquery/jquery_history.html and im trying to inspect the back stack. I can call this $.historyCurrentHash to return the current hash, but im trying to figure out how to look one step back in the stack. if i try calling this $.historyBackStack… >>> More
Visual History for Chrome Maps Out Your Browser History in an Interactive Graph

as seen on How to geek - Search for 'How to geek'
Curious how your adventures on the web interweave? Visual History for Chrome maps out related web sites in your browsing history into an interactive chart–visualize your browsing over the last hours, days, or months. One of the interesting elements of Visual History is that it doesn’t… >>> More
Smithsonian Showcases Video Game History with The Art of Video Games [Video]

as seen on How to geek - Search for 'How to geek'
The Art of Video Games is the Smithsonian’s look at the history of video games; check out this video trailer to see what the exhibition is all about and hear from some notable folks. From the Smithsonian listing for the exhibition: The Art of Video Games is one of the first exhibitions to… >>> More
This Week in Geek History: Birth of Linux Creator, FM Radio Appears, and Q*Bert Released

as seen on How to geek - Search for 'How to geek'
Every week we bring you interesting trivia from the annuals of geekdom. This week in Geek History witnessed the birth of Linux creator Linus Torvalds, the patent for FM radio, and the release of wildly popular 80s arcade game Q*Bert. Read on to learn more about each event. Latest Features How-To… >>> More