Scribd
Upload
29 views

Access Modifiers With Example

Uploaded by

rameen fatima
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
29 views

Access Modifiers With Example

Uploaded by

rameen fatima
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Access Modifiers in Java

Java provides a number of access modifiers to set access levels for classes, variables,
methods, and constructors. The four access levels are −

 Visible to the package, the default. No modifiers are needed.


 Visible to the class only (private).
 Visible to the world (public).
 Visible to the package and all subclasses (protected).

Default Access Modifier - No Keyword


Default access modifier means we do not explicitly declare an access modifier for a
class, field, method, etc.
A variable or method declared without any access control modifier is available to any
other class in the same package. The fields in an interface are implicitly public static
final and the methods in an interface are by default public.
Example
Variables and methods can be declared without any modifiers, as in the following
examples −
String version = "1.5.1";

boolean processOrder() {
return true;
}

Private Access Modifier - Private


Methods, variables, and constructors that are declared private can only be accessed
within the declared class itself.
Private access modifier is the most restrictive access level. Class and interfaces
cannot be private.
Variables that are declared private can be accessed outside the class, if public getter
methods are present in the class.
Using the private modifier is the main way that an object encapsulates itself and hides
data from the outside world.
Example
The following class uses private access control –
public class Logger {
private String format;

public String getFormat() {


return this.format;
}

public void setFormat(String format) {


this.format = format;
}
}

Here, the format variable of the Logger class is private, so there's no way for other
classes to retrieve or set its value directly.
So, to make this variable available to the outside world, we defined two public
methods: getFormat(), which returns the value of format, and setFormat(String), which
sets its value.

Public Access Modifier - Public


A class, method, constructor, interface, etc. declared public can be accessed from any
other class. Therefore, fields, methods, blocks declared inside a public class can be
accessed from any class belonging to the Java Universe.
However, if the public class we are trying to access is in a different package, then the
public class still needs to be imported. Because of class inheritance, all public methods
and variables of a class are inherited by its subclasses.
Example
The following function uses public access control −
public static void main(String[] arguments) {
// ...
}

The main() method of an application has to be public. Otherwise, it could not be called
by a Java interpreter (such as java) to run the class.

Protected Access Modifier - Protected


Variables, methods, and constructors, which are declared protected in a superclass
can be accessed only by the subclasses in other package or any class within the
package of the protected members' class.
The protected access modifier cannot be applied to class and interfaces. Methods,
fields can be declared protected, however methods and fields in a interface cannot be
declared protected.
Protected access gives the subclass a chance to use the helper method or variable,
while preventing a nonrelated class from trying to use it.
Example
The following parent class uses protected access control, to allow its child class
override openSpeaker() method –

class AudioPlayer {
protected boolean openSpeaker(Speaker sp) {
// implementation details
}
}

class StreamingAudioPlayer extends AudioPlayer {


boolean openSpeaker(Speaker sp) {
// implementation details
}
}

Here, if we define openSpeaker() method as private, then it would not be accessible


from any other class other than AudioPlayer. If we define it as public, then it would
become accessible to all the outside world. But our intention is to expose this method
to its subclass only, that’s why we have used protected modifier.
Access Control and Inheritance
The following rules for inherited methods are enforced −
 Methods declared public in a superclass also must be public in all subclasses.
 Methods declared protected in a superclass must either be protected or public in
subclasses; they cannot be private.
 Methods declared private are not inherited at all, so there is no rule for them.

You might also like