What does encapsulation help achieve in object-oriented programming?

Encapsulation is a fundamental concept in object-oriented programming that allows for data hiding and controlled access to an object's internal state. By bundling the data (attributes) and the methods (functions) that operate on that data into a single unit known as a class, encapsulation restricts direct access to some of the object's components. This means that the internal representation of an object is shielded from the outside, ensuring that it can only be accessed and modified through well-defined interfaces (methods).

This protects the integrity of the data, as it prevents external code from altering the state of an object in undesirable ways. For instance, a class can offer public methods for interaction while keeping specific attributes private, enforcing rules on how those attributes are manipulated. This creates a clearer, more maintainable code structure since changes to the internal implementation of a class don’t affect other parts of the program that interact with the class through its public methods.

The other options do not directly relate to the primary advantages offered by encapsulation. Dynamic method resolution refers to polymorphism, which is about method behavior based on the object's runtime type. Creating databases is more related to data persistence rather than encapsulation itself. Memory management typically deals with how memory is allocated and deallocated, which is a