What are some examples of encapsulation in programming?

What are some examples of encapsulation in programming?

Encapsulation is a fundamental concept in object-oriented programming. It involves bundling the data and methods that operate on that data within a single unit, or class. For example, in a class representing a bank account, the balance could be a private variable, and methods like deposit and withdraw would be public.

Can you give me a specific code example?

Sure! Here's a simple example in Python:

class BankAccount:
    def __init__(self, initial_balance):
        self.__balance = initial_balance  # private variable

    def deposit(self, amount):
        self.__balance += amount

    def withdraw(self, amount):
        if amount <= self.__balance:
            self.__balance -= amount
        else:
            print('Insufficient funds')

    def get_balance(self):
        return self.__balance

What are the benefits of using encapsulation?

Encapsulation provides several benefits, including:

1. Data Hiding: It restricts direct access to some of the object's components, which can prevent unintended interference.
2. Increased Flexibility: You can change the internal implementation without affecting the external code that uses the class.
3. Improved Maintainability: It makes the code easier to manage and understand.

Are there any downsides to encapsulation?

While encapsulation has many benefits, it can also introduce complexity. Over-encapsulation can lead to code that is harder to understand and maintain, especially if the accessors and mutators are not well-designed. Additionally, it may lead to performance overhead in some cases.