What is the difference between polymorphism and encapsulation?

Can you explain the difference between polymorphism and encapsulation?

Sure! Polymorphism allows objects to be treated as instances of their parent class, while encapsulation restricts access to an object's internal state.

Can you give me an example of polymorphism?

Of course! In a class hierarchy, if both a Dog and a Cat class inherit from an Animal class, you can call a method like 'makeSound()' on an Animal reference, and it will execute the appropriate method for either Dog or Cat.

And what about encapsulation? How does that work?

Encapsulation is about bundling the data (attributes) and methods (functions) that operate on the data into a single unit, or class, and restricting access to some of the object's components. This is often done using private and public access modifiers.

Why are these concepts important in programming?

They are crucial for creating flexible, maintainable, and secure code. Polymorphism allows for code reusability and easier maintenance, while encapsulation helps protect the integrity of the data.