You've learned how to write instructions for the computer using functions, control flow, and various data structures. Now, we will look at a different approach to organizing your programs: Object-Oriented Programming (OOP). This method focuses on creating 'objects' that bundle together data and the operations that work on that data.

This chapter introduces the fundamental concepts of OOP in Python. You will learn how to:

• Define blueprints for objects using the class keyword.
• Create individual instances (objects) from these classes.
• Store data within objects using attributes.
• Define actions or behaviors for objects using methods.
• Understand the special __init__ method for initializing objects.
• Grasp the role of the self parameter in methods.

By the end of this chapter, you'll have a basic understanding of how to structure programs using classes and objects, a common practice in larger Python applications.