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Access Modifiers in Java

There are two types of modifiers in Java: access modifiers and non-access
modifiers.

The access modifiers in Java specifies the accessibility or scope of a field, method,
constructor, or class. We can change the access level of fields, constructors, methods,
and class by applying the access modifier on it.

There are four types of Java access modifiers:

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1. Private: The access level of a private modifier is only within the class. It cannot
be accessed from outside the class.
2. Default: The access level of a default modifier is only within the package. It
cannot be accessed from outside the package. If you do not specify any access
level, it will be the default.
3. Protected: The access level of a protected modifier is within the package and
outside the package through child class. If you do not make the child class, it
cannot be accessed from outside the package.
4. Public: The access level of a public modifier is everywhere. It can be accessed
from within the class, outside the class, within the package and outside the
package.

There are many non-access modifiers, such as static, abstract, synchronized, native,
volatile, transient, etc. Here, we are going to learn the access modifiers only.

Understanding Java Access Modifiers

Let's understand the access modifiers in Java by a simple table.

Access within within outside package by outside

Modifier class package subclass only package

Private Y N N N

Default Y Y N N

Protected Y Y Y N

Public Y Y Y Y
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1) Private
The private access modifier is accessible only within the class.

Simple example of private access modifier

In this example, we have created two classes A and Simple. A class contains private
data member and private method. We are accessing these private members from
outside the class, so there is a compile-time error.

class A{
private int data=40;
private void msg(){[Link]("Hello java");}
}

public class Simple{

public static void main(String args[]){
A obj=new A();
[Link]([Link]);//Compile Time Error
[Link]();//Compile Time Error
}
}

Role of Private Constructor

If you make any class constructor private, you cannot create the instance of that class
from outside the class. For example:

class A{
private A(){}//private constructor
void msg(){[Link]("Hello java");}
}
public class Simple{
public static void main(String args[]){
A obj=new A();//Compile Time Error
⇧
}
 }

Note: A class cannot be private or protected except nested class.

2) Default
If you don't use any modifier, it is treated as default by default. The default modifier is
accessible only within package. It cannot be accessed from outside the package. It
provides more accessibility than private. But, it is more restrictive than protected, and
public.

Example of default access modifier

In this example, we have created two packages pack and mypack. We are accessing the
A class from outside its package, since A class is not public, so it cannot be accessed
from outside the package.

//save by [Link]
package pack;
class A{
void msg(){[Link]("Hello");}
}

//save by [Link]
package mypack;
import pack.*;
class B{
public static void main(String args[]){
A obj = new A();//Compile Time Error
[Link]();//Compile Time Error
}
}

In the above example, the scope of class A and its method msg() is default so it cannot
be accessed from outside the package.

3) Protected
The protected access modifier is accessible within package and outside the package
but through inheritance only.

The protected access modifier can be applied on the data member, method and
constructor. It can't be applied on the class.

It provides more accessibility than the default modifer.

⇧
Example of protected access modifier
In this example, we have created the two packages pack and mypack. The A class of
pack package is public, so can be accessed from outside the package. But msg method
of this package is declared as protected, so it can be accessed from outside the class
only through inheritance.

//save by [Link]
package pack;
public class A{
protected void msg(){[Link]("Hello");}
}

//save by [Link]
package mypack;
import pack.*;

class B extends A{
public static void main(String args[]){
B obj = new B();
[Link]();
}
}

Output:Hello

4) Public
The public access modifier is accessible everywhere. It has the widest scope among
all other modifiers.

Example of public access modifier

//save by [Link]

package pack;
public class A{
public void msg(){[Link]("Hello");}
}

//save by [Link]

package mypack;
import pack.*;

class B{
public static void main(String args[]){
A obj = new A(); ⇧
 [Link]();
}
}

Output:Hello

Java Access Modifiers with Method Overriding

If you are overriding any method, overridden method (i.e. declared in subclass) must
not be more restrictive.

class A{
protected void msg(){[Link]("Hello java");}
}

public class Simple extends A{

void msg(){[Link]("Hello java");}//[Link]
public static void main(String args[]){
Simple obj=new Simple();
[Link]();
}
}

The default modifier is more restrictive than protected. That is why, there is a compile-
time error.

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