Understanding Access Modifiers in Python: Public, Protected, and Private Explained

In Python, Access modifiers for python are used to define the scope and visibility of class members (variables and methods). They help in implementing the concept of encapsulation in object-oriented programming. Unlike some languages, Python doesn’t enforce strict rules but follows a convention-based approach.

  1. Public Members:
    By default, all members in Python are public. They can be accessed from anywhere in the program. Example:

 
class MyClass: def __init__(self): self.name = "Public"
  1. Protected Members:
    Members prefixed with a single underscore _variable are considered protected. They should not be accessed directly outside the class, but Python still allows it. This is more of a convention.

 
self._age = 25
  1. Private Members:
    Members with double underscores __variable are treated as private. Python uses name mangling to make them harder to access outside the class.

 
self.__salary = 50000

In short, Python relies on naming conventions rather than strict enforcement. Developers are expected to follow these practices to maintain clean, secure, and understandable code.

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