Java: protected, visibitily

Question

I'm a bit confused about the whole protected thing in java. If something is protected only the classes within the same package can access it, right?

Should we use protected private attributes in a class? And if so, when?

"If something is protected only the classes within the same package can access it, right?" No, that would be package access. `protected` access *also* allows access to subclasses. See https://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/java/javaOO/accesscontrol.html — Jon Skeet, Dec 02 '17 at 18:17
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/215497/in-java-difference-between-package-private-public-protected-and-private — Oliver Charlesworth, Dec 02 '17 at 18:17

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 02 '17 at 18:17

1

protected members are accessible by other classes in the same package and by classes extending the class with that member, regardless of its package.

private members are accessible only from within the class. There is no such thing as a "protected private attribute".

answered Dec 02 '17 at 18:17

Mureinik

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Oh thank you! I got it now – user8716414 Dec 02 '17 at 18:20

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 02 '17 at 18:23

The protected modifier specifies that the member can only be accessed within its own package (as with package-private) and, in addition, by a subclass of its class in another package.

Source: Controlling Access of Members of a Class

For the discussion about "protected private", see this.

Java: protected, visibitily

2 Answers2