What is Encapsulation ?
             Encapsulation is an Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) principle that bundles data and methods together and restricts direct access to internal data.

In simple words:

Encapsulation = Data Hiding + Controlled Access


Why Encapsulation is Needed ?

  • secure object data
  • control how data is accessed
  • improve maintainability
  • reduce complexity
  • follow clean design principles

Access Levels in Python

Python supports encapsulation using naming conventions:

  1. Public Members
  2. Protected Members
  3. Private Members

Public Members :
Public members are accessible from anywhere.

Python 
class Person: def __init__(self, name): self.name = name # public p = Person("Rahul") print(p.name)


Protected Members :

Protected members should be accessed only within the class or its subclasses.

They are defined using a single underscore.

Python 
class Person: def __init__(self, name): self._name = name # protected class Student(Person): def show(self): print(self._name) s = Student("Anita") s.show()


Private Members :

Private members are not directly accessible outside the class.

They use double underscore ( __ ), which triggers name mangling.

Python 
class Person: def __init__(self, age): self.__age = age # private p = Person(25) print(p.__age) # error



Getter and Setter Methods :
To safely access and modify private data, we use getter and setter methods.

Python 
class Person: def __init__(self, age): self.__age = age def get_age(self): return self.__age def set_age(self, age): if age > 0: self.__age = age p = Person(22) print(p.get_age()) p.set_age(25) print(p.get_age())