Mutálhatóság

Mutálhatóság refers to the property of an object to be modified after its creation. In programming, this means that the state of an object can be changed without creating a new object. Immutable objects, conversely, cannot be changed after they are created. If a modification is desired, a new object must be created with the desired changes.

The concept of mutability is important for several reasons. Firstly, it affects how objects are passed around in a program. If an object is mutable and passed to a function, that function can alter the original object. This can lead to unexpected side effects if not managed carefully. Immutable objects, on the other hand, provide a guarantee that the object's state will not change, making code easier to reason about and less prone to bugs.

Secondly, mutability has implications for performance and memory usage. Creating new objects for every modification can be inefficient, especially for frequently changing data structures. However, mutability can also introduce overhead due to the need for synchronization in concurrent environments to prevent race conditions.

Many programming languages offer both mutable and immutable data structures. For example, in Python, lists are mutable while tuples are immutable. In Java, `String` objects are immutable. Understanding the mutability of a data structure is crucial for writing correct, efficient, and maintainable code. Choosing between mutable and immutable objects often involves a trade-off between flexibility and predictability.