What does encapsulation in programming help achieve?

Encapsulation in programming is a fundamental principle of object-oriented design, which primarily focuses on bundling the data (attributes) and methods (functions) that operate on the data into a single unit called a class. This mechanism helps to achieve data protection and hiding by controlling access to the internals of the class. Through encapsulation, access modifiers such as private, protected, and public can be used to restrict or allow visibility of certain data members and methods.

When data is encapsulated, it is hidden from the outside world, which means that other parts of the code cannot directly access or modify the encapsulated data. Instead, interactions can only occur through predefined methods (getters and setters), which helps maintain data integrity and security. This practice not only protects the internal state of an object but also enforces a well-defined interface for interacting with that data, allowing for more controlled and safer manipulation.

While enhanced performance and improved code readability can be benefits associated with good design practices, they are not the primary goals of encapsulation. Therefore, the central purpose of encapsulation is to ensure data protection and hiding, making that the correct answer.