The Difference Between Encapsulation and Abstraction

The difference between encapsulation and abstraction seems to trouble some people, which is something I find rather odd. While both are concepts important to object oriented design, and while both are complementary to one another, they are two different concepts. In this article I will explain briefly what encapsulation and abstraction are, and how they Read more…

Updating Object Properties While Respecting Encapsulation

This article is a follow-up to my previous article Accessing Object Properties While Respecting Encapsulation. In that article I looked at making object properties accessible while respecting encapsulation. In this article I will look at how to design operations on objects in order to update property values while respecting encapsulation – that is, without resorting Read more…

Accessing Object Properties While Respecting Encapsulation

Despite object oriented programming having been mainstream for well over a decade now, there are still concepts associated with it that are sources of confusion for its practitioners. It seems to me that, unfortunately, easily available guidance is still in short supply. One source of problems is this: how should an object should make information Read more…