Name mangling is a technique used in computer programming to avoid naming conflicts between different parts of a program.

It involves altering the names of variables, functions, and other identifiers in a way that makes them unique within a specific context.

In object-oriented programming languages like C++ and Python, name mangling is commonly used to prevent naming collisions in classes.

When a class is defined, each member variable or method is prefixed with a unique identifier to ensure that it does not clash with identifiers in other classes or with global variables.

This process is known as name mangling. Name mangling serves a crucial role in maintaining the integrity and functionality of a program by ensuring that each identifier is distinct and can be accessed without ambiguity.

Without name mangling, developers would need to manually ensure that every identifier in their code is unique, which can be a time-consuming and error-prone task. Overall, name mangling is a valuable tool in software development that helps programmers write cleaner, more organized code and avoid the pitfalls of naming conflicts.

By automatically generating unique identifiers for variables, functions, and other elements, name mangling streamlines the development process and enhances the overall quality of a program.