Glossary

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O

object-oriented programming: (OOP) A class of programming languages and techniques based on the concept of an "object" which is a data structure (abstract data type) encapsulated with a set of routines, called "methods" which operate on the data. Operations on the data can only be performed via these methods, which are common to all objects which are instances of a particular "class" (see inheritance). Thus the interface to objects is well defined, and allows the code implementing the methods to be changed so long as the interface remains the same.
optimal: Describes a solution to a problem which minimises some cost function. Linear programming is one technique used to discover the optimal solution to certain problems.

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