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Java Encapsulation
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Encapsulation
The meaning of Encapsulation, is to make
sure that "sensitive" data is hidden from users.
To achieve this, you must:
declare class variables/attributes as
private
provide public get and set methods to
access and update the value of a
private variable
Get and Set
You learned from the previous chapter that
private variables can only be accessed
within the same class (an outside class has no
access to it). However, it is possible to access
them if we provide public get and set
methods.
The get method returns the variable value,
and the set method sets the value.
Syntax for both is that they start with either
get or set , followed by the name of the
variable, with the first letter in upper case:
Example Get your own Java Server
public class Person {
private String name; // private = rest
// Getter
public String getName() {
return name;
}
// Setter
public void setName(String newName) {
this.name = newName;
}
}
Example explained
The get method returns the value of the
variable name .
The set method takes a parameter
( newName ) and assigns it to the name
variable. The this keyword is used to refer
to the current object.
However, as the name variable is declared as
private , we cannot access it from outside
this class:
Example
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args)
Person myObj = new Person();
myObj.name = "John"; // error
System.out.println(myObj.name); // e
}
}
Run Example »
If the variable was declared as public , we
would expect the following output:
John
However, as we try to access a private
variable, we get an error:
MyClass.java:4: error: name has
private access in Person
myObj.name = "John";
^
MyClass.java:5: error: name has
private access in Person
System.out.println(myObj.name);
^
2 errors
Instead, we use the getName() and
setName() methods to access and update
the variable:
Example
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args)
Person myObj = new Person();
myObj.setName("John"); // Set the va
System.out.println(myObj.getName());
}
}
// Outputs "John"
Try it Yourself »
Why Encapsulation?
Better control of class attributes and
methods
Class attributes can be made read-only
(if you only use the get method), or
write-only (if you only use the set
method)
Flexible: the programmer can change one
part of the code without affecting other
parts
Increased security of data
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