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Information hiding in computer programming involves keeping parts of a program separate for ease of updating and scalability. Encapsulation is key to keeping segments of the program separate. Modern programming languages use objects to perform specific tasks and make it easier to write programs. Objects can have multiple versions called from different segments of the program. Information hiding makes changes easier and improves security by keeping parts of the program operating independently.
Information hiding, as far as computers are concerned, is keeping parts of a program separate from other parts. There are many reasons for doing this, one of the most common being the ease of updating. If a program keeps its core separate from its interface, then one or the other can easily be changed without affecting its partner. This allows for minor changes to the program’s core functionality or the potential for a scalable interface, all while providing a simple upgrade process for the program. The key part of information hiding is encapsulation, which keeps each segment of the program separate from all others.
There are many different ways to write computer programs. Early languages required the programmer to write the program in a continuous sequence; the first line of the program was at the top and the last at the bottom. As the program ran, it basically drifted down through the code.
Modern programming languages rarely work so rigorously. Many rely on individual “objects” that will each perform a specific task. Not only does this make it easier to write the program, but it allows a specific piece of code to run over and over again without needing to be rewritten. For example, if the program requests a result of a specific mathematical function five times, instead of writing that process five times, the programmers will turn that function into an object and the program will call it five times.
The processes used in information hiding are based on the nature of the object of the programming. When writing a program using these concepts, objects are designated for individual parts of the program. In this case, a specific object can have multiple versions, each called from a different segment of the program. In the example above, the same call is made five times in the program. If two of these calls were made from the interface and the main program made three, the programmers would write two virtually identical objects.
The main reason programs use information hiding is to make changes easier. If a part of the program uses only its own objects, it’s easier to modify that part of the program. If objects are shared across the program, a small change could cause a seemingly unrelated part of the system to fail.
The secondary reason for hiding information is security. If each part of a program operates as independently as possible, a malicious process is less likely to cascade through the system. For example, if a malicious program gains access to a certain part of an encapsulated system, it can only access the part it initially encounters. The other parts of the program remain, at least temporarily, intact.
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