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Access modifiers in Java

  1. Modifier in Java
  2. Overview of access modifiers
  3. private access modifier
  4. private constructor
  5. Default access modifier
  6. protected access modifier
  7. public access modifier
  8. Override method

1. Modifier in Java

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

The access modifiers in java specifies accessibility (scope) of a data member, method, constructor or class.

There are 4 types of java access modifiers:

  1. private
  2. (Default)
  3. protected
  4. public

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

2. Overview of access modifiers

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The table below illustrates give you an overview of how to use the access modifiers.
Access Modifier
Access within class
Access within package
Access outside package by subclass only
Access outside package and not in subclass.
private
Y
Default
Y
Y
protected
Y
Y
Y
public
Y
Y
Y
Y
You can see more details follow the example below:

3. private access modifier

The private access modifier is accessible only within class.
You cannot access to private field outside the class that defines that private. Java will notify error at the compile time of the class.

4. private constructor

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If you create a class and have a private constructor, you cannot create a object of this class from that private constructor, outside this class. Let's see an illustrative example:

5. Default access modifier

In case you declare a field, method, constructor, but you do not clearly write down access modifier, it means it will be access modifier by default.

The accessing scope of access modifier by default is inside package.
// A class with default access modifier
// (Not public).
class MyClass   {

 // A field with private access modifier.
 private int myField;

 // A field with default access modifier.
 // (not specified public, protected, private).
 String myField2;

 // A method with default access modifier.
 // (not specified public, protected, private).
 void showMe()  {

 }
}
In the same package, you can access to members whose access modifier is default.
And, you cannot access to things outside package, even if they are in a subclass.
With Interface, when you declare a Field or a Method, you always have to declare the public. You also can declare the default mode, and Java considers it public.
public interface MyInterface  {

   // This is a field, you can not declare private or protected.
  public static int MY_FIELD1 = 100;

  // This is a field with default access modifier
  // But Java considering this is a public.
  static int MY_FIELD2 = 200;

  // This is a method, with default access modifier
  // But Java considering this is a public.
  void showInfo();
}

6. protected access modifier

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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.

7. public access modifier

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

8. Override method

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You can override a method of superclass with a method whose name and parameter are similar to those of a superclass. However, you cannot make the accessing scope of this method restrictive.
On the above illustrative image
  1. Cat class extends from Animal class and overrides move() method; the scope of overriding accession changes from protected to public mode. This is valid.
  2. Mouse class extends from Animal class and overrides move() method; the scope of overriding accession changes from protected to default mode. This reduces the accessing scope of the original method, so it is invalid.
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