What is the difference between encapsulation and inheritance in programming?

What is the difference between encapsulation and inheritance in programming?

Encapsulation is the bundling of data and methods that operate on that data within a single unit, like a class. Inheritance, on the other hand, allows a class to inherit properties and methods from another class, promoting code reusability.

Can you give me an example of encapsulation?

Sure! In a class representing a bank account, encapsulation can be used to hide the account balance and provide methods like deposit and withdraw to modify it, ensuring that the balance cannot be changed directly.

And what about inheritance? Can you provide an example?

Absolutely! If you have a class called 'Animal', you can create subclasses like 'Dog' and 'Cat' that inherit properties and methods from 'Animal', such as 'eat' and 'sleep', while also having their own specific behaviors.

Why is encapsulation important in programming?

Encapsulation is important because it helps protect the internal state of an object, reduces complexity, and increases maintainability by exposing only what is necessary through a controlled interface.