C# Access Modifiers
Access Modifiers
By now, you are quite familiar with the public keyword that appears in many of our examples:
public string color;
The public keyword is an access modifier, which is used to set the access level/visibility for classes, fields, methods and properties.
C# has the following access modifiers:
| Modifier | Description |
|---|---|
public |
The code is accessible for all classes |
private |
The code is only accessible within the same class |
protected |
The code is accessible within the same class, or in a class that is inherited from that class. You will learn more about inheritance in a later chapter |
internal |
The code is only accessible within its own assembly, but not from another assembly. You will learn more about this in a later chapter |
There's also two combinations: protected internal and private protected.
For now, let's focus on public and private modifiers.
Private Modifier
If you declare a field with a private access modifier, it can only be accessed within the same class:
Example
class Car{private string model = "Mustang"; static void Main(string[] args){Car myObj = new Car(); Console.WriteLine(myObj.model);}}
The output will be:
MustangIf you try to access it outside the class, an error will occur:
Example
class Car
{
private string model = "Mustang";
}
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Car myObj = new Car();
Console.WriteLine(myObj.model);
}
}The output will be:
'Car.model' is inaccessible due to its protection level
The field 'Car.model' is assigned but its value is never used
Public Modifier
If you declare a field with a public access modifier, it is accessible for all classes:
Example
class Car
{
public string model = "Mustang";
}
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Car myObj = new Car();
Console.WriteLine(myObj.model);
}
}The output will be:
MustangWhy Access Modifiers?
To control the visibility of class members (the security level of each individual class and class member).
To achieve "Encapsulation" - which is the process of making sure that "sensitive" data is hidden from users. This is done by declaring fields as private. You will learn more about this in the next chapter.
Note: By default, all members of a class are private if you don't specify an access modifier:
Example
class Car
{
string model; // private
string year; // private
}