# Introduction to object-oriented programming

Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a way of organizing the code in a program
by grouping it into objects. The term _object_ in this sense means an individual
element that include information (data values) and functionality. When you use
an object-oriented approach to organizing a program you group particular pieces
of information together with common functionality or actions associated with
that information. For example, you could group music information like album
title, track title, or artist name with functionality such as “add track to
playlist” or “play all songs by this artist”. These pieces are combined into a
single item, an object (for example, an “Album” or “MusicTrack”). Bundling
values and functions together provides several benefits. One key benefit is that
you only needing to use a single variable rather than multiple ones. In
addition, it keeps related functionality together. Finally, combining
information and functionality allows you to structure programs in ways that more
closely match the real world.
