Access modifiers are those elements in code that determine the scope for that variable. As we know there are three access modifiers available namely public, protected, and private. Let us see the differences between Protected and Private access modifiers.
Access Modifier 1: Protected
The methods or variables declared as protected are accessible within the same package or different packages. By using protected keywords, we can declare the methods/variables protected.
Syntax:
protected void method_name(){
......code goes here..........
}
Example:
Java
// Java Program to illustrate Protected Access Modifier // Importing input output classesimport java.io.*; // Main class public class Main { // Input custom string protected String name = "Geeks for Geeks"; // Main driver method public static void main(String[] args) { // Creating an object of Main class Main obj1 = new Main(); // Displaying the object content as created // above of Main class itself System.out.println( obj1.name ); }} |
Geeks for Geeks
Access Modifier 2: Private
The methods or variables that are declared as private are accessible only within the class in which they are declared. By using private keyword we can set methods/variables private.
Syntax:
private void method_name(){
......code goes here..........
}
Example:
Java
// Java Program to illustrate Private Access Modifier // Importing input output classesimport java.io.*; // Main classpublic class Main { // Input custom string private String name = "Geeks for Geeks"; // Main driver method public static void main(String[] args) { // Creating an object of Main class Main obj1 = new Main(); // Displaying the object content as created // above of Main class itself System.out.println(obj1.name); }} |
Geeks for Geeks
Now after having an understanding of the internal working of both of them let us come to conclude targeted major differences between these access modifiers.
| Protected | Private |
|---|---|
| The keyword used is ‘protected.’ | The keyword used is ‘private.’ |
| Protected can be used within the same class | Private can be used within a same class |
| Protected can be used in the same package subclass | Private can not be used in the same package subclass |
| Protected can be used in different package subclass | Private can not be used in different package subclass |
| Protected can not be used in different package non-subclass | Private can not be used in different package non-subclass |
