Stopwatch Project

A terminal-based stopwatch application written in Python.

OOP Enhancements

This project demonstrates several Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) principles:

1. Inheritance

• Applied by creating a base class Timer and a child class Stopwatch.
• Location: class Stopwatch(Timer) in stopwatch.py.
• Benefit: Allows code reuse and logical organization of timer-related functionality.

2. Polymorphism

• Achieved by overriding abstract methods start and stop in the Stopwatch class.
• Location: def start(self) and def stop(self) in Stopwatch.
• Benefit: Enables different timer types to implement their own behaviors while sharing a common interface.

3. Encapsulation

• Private attributes (e.g., __last_elapsed) and getter/setter methods are used to protect internal state.
• Location: self.__last_elapsed and get_last_elapsed() in Stopwatch.
• Benefit: Prevents direct modification of sensitive data, improving reliability and maintainability.

4. Abstraction

• The base class Timer is defined as an abstract class with abstract methods.
• Location: class Timer(ABC) and @abstractmethod decorators in stopwatch.py.
• Benefit: Hides implementation details and enforces a contract for subclasses, making the codebase easier to extend and understand.

These enhancements make the project more modular, extensible, and easier to maintain, while providing a clear structure for future improvements.