University of Central Florida (UCF) COP3330 Object Oriented Programming Final Practice Exam

Encapsulation is a fundamental principle of object-oriented programming that involves restricting access to certain components of an object, thereby protecting its internal state. By using encapsulation, you can define which attributes and methods are publicly accessible while keeping others private or protected. This is important because it prevents outside code from directly manipulating the object's internal data, which could lead to inconsistent states or unintended behaviors.

In practice, encapsulation allows you to create a clear interface through public methods while hiding the complex internal logic or data structures. This not only enhances security by safeguarding sensitive information but also improves maintainability. Developers can make changes to the internal implementation without affecting external code that relies on the object's public interface.

This structured approach ensures that an object's state remains valid and controlled, leading to more robust and reliable software design.