Encapsulation is a fundamental concept in object-oriented programming that involves bundling data and functions that manipulate the data into a single unit called a class. Encapsulation hides the internal implementation details of a class from external code, and only the public interface of the class is accessible, providing abstraction and simplifying the usage of the class while allowing the internal implementation to be modified without impacting external code.
Encapsulation has several features, including data hiding, which is a way of restricting access to data members of a class. By making data members private, we can control the modification of our data members and ensure that they are not used or changed outside of the class. Encapsulation also helps to keep related data and functions together, which makes code cleaner and easier to read.
In C++, encapsulation can be achieved by bundling similar data members and functions that operate together inside a single class. We can also use setters and getters to read and modify protected data. By encapsulating data and functions, we can protect data from change and control the flow of data into and out of a class.
In summary, encapsulation is a key feature of object-oriented programming that involves bundling data and functions that manipulate the data into a single unit called a class. Encapsulation provides data hiding, abstraction, and simplifies the usage of the class while allowing the internal implementation to be modified without impacting external code.