Paradigm lost: lessons from the object (non-)revolution

Abstract

Heated arguments over the "right" tool, language, method or theoretical approach-are not new to computer science. Usually these arguments rage for a while then subside with each side agreeing to disagree. Object oriented programming is the most recent example of this phenomenon. Unfortunately, (because it delays recognition and resolution of important issues), the foundations for the claim of a "new paradigm" are seldom explicated. Equally unexamined, the epistemological roots that cause such arguments to be so vehement and emotional that they earn the metaphoric label, "religious wars". The paper uses object orientation as a kind of case study to suggest that computer science needs to be more aware of its philosophical presuppositions, to suggest that there are indeed alternative paradigms for computer science, and that computer science education needs to address these issues in a more comprehensive fashion.