Members Access Modifiers

Members Access Modifiers

    Because method and variable members are usually given access control in exactly the same way, we'll cover both together.

Whereas a class can use just two of the four access control levels (default or public ), members can use all four:

- public

- protected

- default

- private

Public Members

    When a method or variable member is declared public, it means all other classes, regardless of the package they belong to, can access the member (assuming the class itself is visible).

example:

public void methodA() { }
public int year;

Private Members

    Members marked private can't be accessed by code in any class other than the class in which the private member was declared.
A method marked private cannot be overridden.

example:

private void methodB() {}
private String name;

Protected and Default Members

    The protected and default access control levels are almost identical, but with one critical difference. A default member may be accessed only if the class accessing the member belongs to the same package, whereas a protected member can be accessed (through inheritance) by a subclass even if the subclass is in a different package.

Note: Default members can be accessed only from the same package and cannot be through inheritance.

example:

abstract class Car {

double price // Default member;

protected void goFast(); // Protected method

void getModel(){}; // Default method

}