3.3 Information Hiding and Encapsulation

   

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Dictionary Definition

Encapsulation ” To enclose in a capsule

Software Academia Definitions

Information Hiding ” Information hiding is used to hide complexity behind a simple interface.

Encapsulation ” The process of compartmentalizing the elements of an abstraction that constitute its structure and behavior; encapsulation serves to separate the contractual interface of an abstraction and its implementation. ^[2]

^[2] From Brooch, Object-Oriented Analysis and Design with Applications , 1994 Benjamin Cummings Publishing Company Inc. Reprinted by permission of Pearson Education, Inc.

The information hiding principle was first proposed by D. L. Parnas in 1972 as a criterion for decomposing a software system into modules. The principle states that each module should hide a design decision that is considered likely to change. Each changeable decision is called the secret of the module.

Information hiding allows an implementation to be hidden behind an interface that doesn't change even if the implementation does. The concept of encapsulation is related to information hiding. The data and the operations that manipulate the data are all combined in one place. They are encapsulated within a module.

Information hiding is often touted as a major reason why OO software is more robust. This is true, but with a little effort we can also benefit from implementing information hiding in our system. In a nutshell , all information is hidden away, the only way to get to the data is via its component interface.

So now that we understand the main concepts for software design, how do we implement them in LabVIEW?

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