difference between abstraction and encapsulation?

Question

What is the precise difference between encapsulation and abstraction?

Answer 1

Encapsulation is hiding the implementation details which may or may not be for generic or specialized behavior(s).

Abstraction is providing a generalization (say, over a set of behaviors).

Here's a good read: Abstraction, Encapsulation, and Information Hiding by Edward V. Berard of the Object Agency.

Answer 2

• Abstraction lets you focus on what the object does instead of how it does it
• Encapsulation means hiding the internal details or mechanics of how an object does something.

Like when you drive a car, you know what the gas pedal does but you may not know the process behind it because it is encapsulated.

Let me give an example in C#. Suppose you have an integer:

int Number = 5;
string aStrNumber = Number.ToString();

you can use a method like Number.ToString() which returns you characters representation of the number 5, and stores that in a string object. The method tells you what it does instead of how it does it.

Answer 3

encapsulation puts some things in a box and gives you a peephole; this keeps you from mucking with the gears.

abstraction flat-out ignores the details that don't matter, like whether the things have gears, ratchets, flywheels, or nuclear cores; they just "go"

Answer 4

Another example:

Suppose I created an immutable Rectangle class like this:

class Rectangle {
 public:
  Rectangle(int width, int height) : width_(width), height_(height) {}
  int width() const { return width_; }
  int height() const { return height_; }

 private:
  int width_;
  int height_;
}

Now it's obvious that I've encapsulated width and height (access is somehow restricted), but I've not abstracted anything (okay, maybe I've ignored where the rectangle is located in the coordinates space, but this is a flaw of the example).

Good abstraction usually implies good encapsulation.

An example of good abstraction is a generic database connection class. Its public interface is database-agnostic, and is very simple, yet allows me to do what I want with the connection. And you see? There's also encapsulation there, because the class must have all the low-level handles and calls inside.

Answer 5

Encapsulation: Is hiding unwanted/un-expected/propriety implementation details from the actual users of object. e.g.

List<string> list = new List<string>();
list.Sort(); /* Here, which sorting algorithm is used and hows its 
implemented is not useful to the user who wants to perform sort, that's 
why its hidden from the user of list. */

Abstraction: Is a way of providing generalization and hence a common way to work with objects of vast diversity. e.g.

class Aeroplane : IFlyable, IFuelable, IMachine
{ // Aeroplane's Design says:
  // Aeroplane is a flying object
  // Aeroplane can be fueled
  // Aeroplane is a Machine
}
// But the code related to Pilot, or Driver of Aeroplane is not bothered 
// about Machine or Fuel. Hence,
// pilot code:
IFlyable flyingObj = new Aeroplane();
flyingObj.Fly();
// fighter Pilot related code
IFlyable flyingObj2 = new FighterAeroplane();
flyingObj2.Fly();
// UFO related code 
IFlyable ufoObj = new UFO();
ufoObj.Fly();
// **All the 3 Above codes are genaralized using IFlyable,
// Interface Abstraction**
// Fly related code knows how to fly, irrespective of the type of 
// flying object they are.

// Similarly, Fuel related code:
// Fueling an Aeroplane
IFuelable fuelableObj = new Aeroplane();
fuelableObj.FillFuel();
// Fueling a Car
IFuelable fuelableObj2 = new Car(); // class Car : IFuelable { }
fuelableObj2.FillFuel();

// ** Fueling code does not need know what kind of vehicle it is, so far 
// as it can Fill Fuel**

Answer 6

Encapsulation require modularity. It requires you to create objects that has the data and the methods to process the data. In this case you can view it as a module.

Abstraction provides you a generalized view of your classes.

Answer 7

A priori, they've got nothing in common.

Most answers here focus on OOP but encapsulation begins much earlier; every method is an encapsulation:

point x = { 1, 4 };
point y = { 23, 42 };

int d = distance(x, y);

Here, distance encapsulates the calculation of the (euclidean) distance between two points in a plane: it hides implementation details. This is encapsulation, pure and simple.

Abstraction is the process of generalization: taking a concrete implementation and making it applicable to different, albeit somewhat related, types of data. The classical example of abstraction is C's qsort function which sorts data.

The thing about qsort is that it doesn't care about the data it sorts – in fact, it doesn't know what data it sorts. Rather, its input type is a typeless pointer (void*) which is just C's way of saying “I don't care about the type of data” (this is also called type erasure). The important point is that the implementation of qsort always stays the same, regardless of data type. The only thing that has to change is the compare function, which differs from data type to data type. qsort therefore expects the user to provide said compare function as a function argument.

Answer 8

Abstraction: The idea of presenting something in a simplified / different way, which is either easier to understand and use or more pertinent to the situation.

Consider a class that sends an email... it uses abstraction to show itself to you as some kind of messenger boy, so you can call emailSender.send(mail, recipient). What it actually does - chooses POP3 / SMTP, calling servers, MIME translation, etc, is abstracted away. You only see your messenger boy.

Encapsulation: The idea of securing and hiding data and methods that are private to an object. It deals more with making something independent and foolproof.

Take me, for instance. I encapsulate my heart rate from the rest of the world. Because I don't want anyone else changing that variable, and I don't need anyone else to set it in order for me to function. Its vitally important to me, but you don't need to know what it is, and you probably don't care anyway.

Look around you'll find that almost everything you touch is an example of both abstraction and encapsulation. Your phone, for instance presents to you the abstraction of being able to take what you say and say it to someone else - covering up GSM, processor architecture, radio frequencies, and a million other things you don't understand or care to. It also encapsulates certain data from you, like serial numbers, ID numbers, frequencies, etc.

It all makes the world a nicer place to live in :D