objectgolf

Objectgolf is a term used in programming culture to describe a category of challenges that blends object-oriented programming with code golf objectives. Participants attempt to solve problems using the smallest possible object-oriented footprint, typically aiming to minimize the number of created objects, the number of classes, or the overall code length while ensuring correct behavior.

It is not a formal language or standardized competition. Rather, objectgolf comprises challenges hosted on code golf platforms and community forums where solutions can be written in any language that supports object-oriented paradigms. Common scoring dimensions include code length, the count of distinct objects instantiated, and execution correctness. Some tasks emphasize design quality or reuse of existing objects, while others focus strictly on brevity.

Origins and culture: Objectgolf arose out of code golf and programming puzzle communities as practitioners experimented with applying golf-style brevity to object-oriented design. Individuals and teams publish solutions and contrast approaches, often sharing notes about object-oriented techniques, idioms, and the trade-offs between conciseness and readability.

Criticism and variants: Critics argue that objectgolf can encourage terse or opaque designs and undervalue clarity. Variants of objectgolf may trade off object count for shorter code, or impose constraints such as limiting the number of classes, methods, or inheritance levels.

See also: Code golf; Obfuscated code; Programming puzzle.