Access Modifiers

Access modifiers control visibility and accessibility of classes, methods and variables in Java.

Access Levels

Modifier	Class	Package	Subclass	Outside
public	✅	✅	✅	✅
protected	✅	✅	✅	✗
(default)*	✅	✅	✗	✗
private	✅	✗	✗	✗
*No modifier = package-private (default)

Example

public class Car {
    public String brand;  // accessible everywhere
    protected int speed;  // accessible in subclasses or same package
    String model;         // default - package-only access
    private int engineNo; // only within this class
    
    private void startEngine() { ... }
    public drive() { ... }
}

Where They Apply

Modifier	Class	Field	Method	Constructor
public	✅	✅	✅	✅
protected	✗	✅	✅	✅
(default)	✅	✅	✅	✅
private	✗	✅	✅	✅

Real-World analogy

Think of access modifiers like locks on doors:

• public: open to everyone,
• protected: only family (package/subclass),
• default: only people in your building (package),
• private: only you.

Tip

Expect scenarios like:

• can a private method be inherited? No
• can protected fields be accessed in other packages? Yes, only if subclassed

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Parent: _Core