Computer Science 2 Study Guide

Private vs Public

Controls who can access something inside a class.

Private - only the class can directly access it and is used to protect data

Public - All other code can access it

Encapsulation

Putting data and the functions that control that data together inside a class, while hiding/protecting the data.

Getters

A getter gets/returns the value of a private variable

Setters

A setter changes the value of a private variable

Inspectors

An inspector is a function that looks at/gets information from an object without changing it

Mutators

A mutator is a function that changes the object’s data/state.

Constructors

A special function that runs automatically when an object is created.

Important constructor rules

A constructor:

• Has the same name as the class

• Has no return type

• Runs automatically when an object is created

Facilitators

Facilitators generally mean functions that perform an operation or provide some service for the object, rather than simply getting or setting a value

Static

The static keyword means something belongs to the class itself rather to each individual object