encapsulation.

1. The organization of data and operations into a software unit that controls access to its internal details.

2. The enclosure of a substance or object within a capsule, membrane, or protective covering.

3. The addition of protocol-specific headers or other framing information around data for transport through a network.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• data encapsulation
• encapsulation in a module

On the page

Encapsulation let the maintenance program use the module without exposing its internal state.

The engineer found a fault at the boundary where encapsulation had been bypassed.

Usage notes

Primary category: sci-fi. Forms: Usually uncountable; encapsulations for distinct instances. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.