This summer, I’m learning Ruby on Rails at Metis, a 12-week class taught by some great folks from thoughtbot. This post is the first in a series sharing my experience and some of the things I’m learning.

Using object-oriented design in programming is analogous to building scaffolding around a building. Once we have a basic class definition that models a real-world object, adding additional layers of abstraction on top becomes much simpler. This allows us to easily build on more complexity — or levels on the scaffold — without sacrificing readability. A procedural approach is like using a steep rickety ladder to scale the same tall building: you may make it to the top, but it’s a much more difficult climb and the ladder is liable to collapse, dropping you right back to the ground to start over.