Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) Practice Exam

The concept that describes independent objects with low coupling is cohesion. In object-oriented programming (OOP), cohesion refers to how closely related and focused the responsibilities of a single module or class are. A class with high cohesion has well-defined responsibilities, meaning all its functionalities are centered around a specific task or concept. This structure makes the class easier to maintain, understand, and reuse, as its components are tightly related and serve a singular purpose.

Low coupling, which typically complements high cohesion, indicates that the classes or objects within a system are largely independent and interact with each other through well-defined interfaces. This independence allows changes in one class without significantly impacting others, leading to better modularity and simplicity in system design.

In contrast, encapsulation relates to bundling the data and methods that operate on that data within one unit, but does not specifically address the independence of objects. Inheritance is about creating a new class based on an existing class, which can sometimes lead to tighter coupling among classes. Abstraction involves hiding complex implementation details and exposing only the necessary parts of an object, but once again does not directly speak to the independence of objects. Thus, the aspect of independent objects with low coupling is best described by the concept of cohesion.