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oopencapsulation

Need help to verify own interpretation of the main purpose of the encapsulation principe


When I initially acknowledge with the encapsulation it seems I got the wrong feeling that the main reason of the encapsulation is to prevent modifying class data by object user and hide the internal implementation of the class from that user.

But now I got it as the most important goal of the encapsulation (besides hiding the implementation) is to provide the object user the ability to modify class data limited by rules that are described in class properties - something that is impossible to achieve by only using public data fields (without even custom get and set methods). For example - to set up a range of possible values for a field.

Is that right way of thinking on the principe?


Solution

  • The main purpose of the encapsulation principle in object-oriented programming is to ensure that the internal workings of an object are hidden from other objects and are only accessible through a well-defined interface. This helps to protect the integrity of the object's data and behavior, and allows for easier maintenance and updates to the code.

    By encapsulating an object's data and methods, developers can control how that object is used by other parts of the program, and prevent unintended changes or misuse of its state. This also allows for better abstraction and modularity in the code, as objects can be treated as black boxes with defined inputs and outputs.

    In summary, the encapsulation principle helps to achieve data security, maintainability, and code organization by hiding the implementation details of an object and exposing a limited interface for other objects to interact with it.