Chapter 20: Problem 4

Discuss the concept of encapsulation, and tell how it is used to create abstract data types.

Short Answer

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Encapsulation refers to the bundling of related data and methods into a single unit or object, keeping the internal state of an object hidden and providing access to it only via prescribed methods. Abstract Data Types (ADTs) are a higher-level data organization concept that defines a type by its behavior while hiding its implementation. Encapsulation is utilized in creating ADTs by bundling related data and operations into single units or objects and making these objects' data private, thus ensuring that the abstractness of the type is maintained.

Step by step solution

Understanding Encapsulation

Encapsulation is one of the major principles of object-oriented programming. It refers to the bundling of data, and the methods that operate on these data, into a single unit known as an object. It hides the internal state of these objects and prevent direct access. Instead, access is provided via methods (getters and setters). This prevents data from being manipulated in an unexpected way and ensures it can only change in well-defined ways.

Understanding Abstract Data Types

Abstract Data Type (ADT) is a high-level data organization concept that defines a type by its behavior from the point of view of a user. It encapsulates the data structure, and it’s operations, in terms of an interface. The implementation of the interface and the data structure is hidden from the user. For example, in the case of a list, we are only exposed to operations like add, remove, or find an element in the list but how these operations are performed is hidden from us.

Encapsulation Used in Abstract Data Types

Encapsulation is used in creating abstract data types by bundling related variables and functions into a single unit, which is the object (the instance of a type). The data (properties/variables) of an object are kept private, so they can be accessed and modified only via methods provided by the type (object's class). That's how we can achieve the characteristic of an abstract data type, where the detailed implementation of a data structure is not exposed to the user, and only specific operations are made available.

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Discuss the concept of encapsulation, and tell how it is used to create abstract data types.

Short Answer

Step by step solution

Understanding Encapsulation

Understanding Abstract Data Types

Encapsulation Used in Abstract Data Types

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