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Define the concept of encapsulation in object-oriented programming.

Encapsulation in object-oriented programming is the practice of keeping an object's data and methods private to protect its integrity.

In more detail, encapsulation is a fundamental principle of object-oriented programming (OOP). It is often referred to as one of the four pillars of OOP, along with inheritance, polymorphism, and abstraction. The concept of encapsulation is all about creating a 'capsule' or a protective shell around an object's data and the methods that operate on this data. This shell prevents direct access to an object's data from outside the object itself.

The main purpose of encapsulation is to safeguard the data from being accessed directly or accidentally modified. Instead, the data can only be accessed or modified through the object's methods, which are designed to handle the data in a controlled and safe manner. This is achieved by declaring the data and methods as 'private' within the class definition.

For example, consider a class 'BankAccount' with private data members 'accountNumber' and 'balance'. These data members cannot be accessed directly from outside the class. Instead, the class provides public methods such as 'deposit' and 'withdraw' to safely interact with the data. This ensures that the balance cannot be arbitrarily changed without going through the proper procedures.

Encapsulation also enhances the modularity of the code, making it easier to understand, maintain, and debug. It allows the internal workings of an object to be hidden from the rest of the program, presenting a simple and consistent interface. This means that the implementation of an object can be changed without affecting other parts of the program, as long as the interface remains the same.

In summary, encapsulation is a powerful tool in object-oriented programming that helps to protect the integrity of an object's data, enhance code modularity, and improve maintainability. It is a key principle that every computer science student should understand and apply in their programming practice.

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