encapsulation

Safeguarding the state of an objects by defining its attributes as private and channeling access to them through accessor and mutator methods.

The localization of knowledge within a module. Because objects encapsulate data and implementation, the user of an object can view the object as a black box that provides services. Instance variables and methods can be added, deleted, or changed, but as long as the services provided by the object remain the same, code that uses the object can continue to use it without being rewritten. See also instance variable, instance method.

Any method packaging an enzyme or bacterium and maintaining its normal functions. Used to immobilize cells in a bioreactor.

The veil of abstraction separating the "interface" from the "implementation" (whether enforced or not), which mandates that all access to an "object"'s state be through methods alone.

In open systems, the technique used by layered protocols in which a lower layer protocol accepts a message from a higher layer protocol and places it in the data portion of a frame in the lower layer.