Difference Between Abstraction And Encapsulation

Abstraction and encapsulation are two fundamental concepts in Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), and although they are related, they are not the same. Here’s a comparison to highlight their differences:

  • Abstraction Real-life Example: Abstraction is like the car’s dashboard. When you drive a car, you interact with the dashboard, which provides a simple interface for controlling the car (accelerator, brake, steering wheel, etc.). You don’t need to understand how the engine works or how the car processes your inputs internally.
  • Encapsulation Real-life Example: It hides the internal state (like the car’s engine, fuel system, etc.) and restricts direct access to it, controlling how external entities (drivers or programs) interact with it.

Differences Between Abstraction and Encapsulation

The most important differences between Abstraction and Encapsulation are given below

1. Definition:

  • Abstraction: Hides the complexity of a system and only exposes the essential, relevant details. It focuses on what an object does, rather than how it does it.
  • Encapsulation: Bundles the data (variables) and methods (functions) that operate on the data into a single unit (class) and restricts access to the internal data using access modifiers (e.g., private, protected, public).

2. Purpose:

  • Abstraction: Its goal is to define interfaces and expose only relevant functionality, making it easier to use and understand complex systems without knowing the internal details.
  • Encapsulation: Its goal is to protect the data inside an object from being modified directly and to control how the data is accessed or changed.

3. How It Works:

  • Abstraction: Achieved through abstract classes, interfaces, and pure virtual functions in C++. It hides implementation details and shows only the required functionalities.
  • Encapsulation: Achieved by making class variables (data members) private or protected and providing getter and setter methods to control access to them.

4. Focus:

  • Abstraction: Focuses on what operations can be done with the object, providing a high-level view of the functionality.
  • Encapsulation: Focuses on how the data is protected and how access to the data is controlled.

5. Implementation:

  • Abstraction: Can be implemented using abstract classes, interfaces, and pure virtual functions.
  • Encapsulation: Can be implemented by using private and public access specifiers for class variables and methods.