| Recipe 10.1: Creating a 'Private' Attribute or Method |
Last Updated: Sep 8, 2003
Status: Draft
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Problem:
You want to declare an attribute or method that is available only for use by the class that declares it: you don't want code outside of the class to be able to access it.
Solution:
Use the is private property:
has $counter is private;
method do_something is private { ... };
Discussion:
A central tenet in object oriented programming is that code outside a class shouldn't be welcome to muck with the insides of a class unless you've given it permission to do so. The property is private specifically denies that permission, thereby creating an attribute or method which can only be accessed by code inside the current class. This is typically used for keeping track of internal state or performing other actions that users outside the class don't need to know about.
By default, has declarations are assumed to be is private, and method declarations are assumed to be is public.
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