8.15. Data Abstraction and Encapsulation
Classes normally hide the details of their implementation from their clients. This is called information hiding. As an example, let us consider the stack data structure introduced in Section 6.6. Recall that a stack is a last-in, first-out (LIFO) data structure—the last item pushed (inserted) on the stack is the first item popped (removed) from the stack.
Stacks can be implemented with arrays and with other data structures, such as linked lists. (We discuss stacks and linked lists in Chapter 17, Data Structures, and in Chapter 19, Collections.) A client of a stack class need not be concerned with the stack’s implementation. The client knows only that when data items are placed in the stack, they will ...
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