Which concept refers to the idea that interacting objects should know as little about one another as possible?

Loose coupling refers to the design principle where objects in a system are minimally dependent on one another. This means that each object knows as little as possible about the other objects it interacts with. By promoting loose coupling, systems become more flexible and easier to maintain, as changes to one object have minimal impact on others. This concept enhances modularity, allowing for independent development, testing, and updates of different components within a system.

In contrast, tight coupling occurs when objects are heavily dependent on each other, leading to difficulties in modifying or reusing components. Encapsulation is the practice of bundling data and methods that operate on the data within one unit or class, while polymorphism allows methods to do different things based on the object it is acting upon. While all these concepts are important in object-oriented design, loose coupling specifically emphasizes minimal dependency between interacting objects.