Which of the following is the main characteristic of class? *1 pointEncapsulationPolymorphismObject creationInheritance

The main characteristic of a class in object-oriented programming is Encapsulation. Encapsulation is the mechanism of hiding data (variables) and methods within an object from the outside world, and accessing them only through the object's functions. This is done for the purpose of data security and integrity.

Here's a step-by-step explanation:

1. A class is a blueprint for creating objects in programming. It defines a set of properties and methods that are common to all objects of one type.

2. One of the main characteristics of a class is Encapsulation. Encapsulation is a process of wrapping the data (variables) and the methods (functions) together as a single unit.

3. In encapsulation, the variables of a class will be hidden from other classes, and can be accessed only through the methods of their current class. This is also known as data hiding.

4. To achieve encapsulation in Java, declare the variables of a class as private and provide public setter and getter methods to modify and view the variables' values.

5. Other characteristics of a class include Polymorphism (the ability of an object to take on many forms), Inheritance (the ability of a new class to be created, from an existing class by extending it), and Object creation (the process of creating an object of a class), but the main characteristic is Encapsulation.