Software development is an exercise in managing complexity. Being able to isolate the functionality and verify the correctness is valued. OO is one attempt to

Software development is an exercise in managing complexity. Being able to isolate the functionality and verify the correctness is valued. OO is one attempt to make this practical in the large[1]. Smalltalk is a great start. If you want to read more, this poorly named book is by far the best I've read on the topic: http://www.amazon.com/Software-Development-Principles-Patterns-Practices/dp/0135974445/ http://www.amazon.com/Software-Development-Principles-Patter... [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programming_in_the_large http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programming_in_the_large