[3543] in java-interest
Re: protected is not?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Michael Daconta)
Wed Nov 15 21:12:19 1995
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 1995 16:29:11 -0700 (MST)
To: Pat Niemeyer <pat@icon-stl.net>
From: daconta@PrimeNet.Com (Michael Daconta)
Cc: java-interest@java.sun.com
At 07:20 PM 11/14/95 -0600, Pat Niemeyer wrote:
>
>On Mon, 13 Nov 1995, Michael Daconta wrote:
>
>> Here is a simple chunk of code that does not
>> seem to work properly.
>>
>> class junk {
>> protected String name;
>>
>> junk(String inName)
>> {
>> name = new String(inName);
>> }
>> }
>>
>> class Protect {
>> public static void main(String args[])
>> {
>> junk apiece = new junk("piece of junk");
>>
>> System.out.println(apiece.name);
>> }
>> }
>>
>>
>> This code compiles and prints out the name of the
>> object. The problem is that the compiler should not have
>> let me do this. name is a protected variable. protected should
>> mean that inaccesible except to subclasses.
>
>Protected members are avaiable to subclasses and classes in the same *package*
>or compilation unit. If you put junk in a seperate package its protected
>members will not be accessible by Protect.
>
>I believe that this is the default permission if you don't use any modifiers.
>
>
>Pat
>
>
Hi Pat,
I hear what you are saying but that does not track with the meaning
of a Protected variable. Essentially what you said was - it is
only "protected" outside of the package. That would be a serious
change to the idea of access specifiers.
Also, packages are primarily a mechanism to separate namespaces.
Being in the same package should have nothing to do with permission
to access protected variables. If that is the default, I think the
default should be changed to the same meaning as in C++.
Changing the meaning of an access specifier even in the same package
does serious damage to the concept of encapsulation and data hiding.
I'd rather hope this was a bug. Java team? (And the survey says...)
- Mike Daconta
-
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