Can we declare class as private?
We can not declare top level class as private. Java allows only public and default modifier for top level classes in java. Inner classes can be private.
Why classes Cannot be declared as protected?
Since there is no way to restrict this class being subclassed by only few classes (we cannot restrict class being inherited by only few classes out of all the available classes in a package/outside of a package), there is no use of protected access specifiers for top level classes. Hence it is not allowed.
Can a class be private and where can it be used?
Private classes are allowed, but only as inner or nested classes. If you have a private inner or nested class, then access is restricted to the scope of that outer class. If you have a private class on its own as a top-level class, then you can’t get access to it from anywhere.
Why a class can be made private?
The private access modifier is accessible only within the same class. If we make any class constructor private, we cannot create the instance of that class from outside the class. If we are overriding any method, overridden method (i.e., declared in the subclass) must not be more restrictive.
How do you define a private class?
The methods or data members declared as private are accessible only within the class in which they are declared. Any other class of the same package will not be able to access these members. private means “only visible within the enclosing class”.
Why a class Cannot be private or protected except nested class?
Protected class member is just like package-private , except that it also can be accessed from subclasses. Since there is no way to restrict this class being subclassed by only few classes, there is no use of protected access specifiers for top level classes. Hence it is not allowed.
Can a class be public/private protected and default?
First and important difference is the accessibility i.e. anything public is accessible to anywhere , anything private is only accessible in the class they are declared , anything protected is accessible outside the package but only to child classes and default is accessible only inside the package.
Can we declare a private class inside a main class?
You just need to write a class within a class. Unlike a class, an inner class can be private and once you declare an inner class private, it cannot be accessed from an object outside the class.
What does it mean for a class to be private?
A private means that only that class has direct access to the variable, everything else needs a method/function to access or change that data.
Can a class be private or protected in Java?
No, we cannot declare a top-level class as private or protected. It can be either public or default (no modifier).
Can a class be declared inside another class?
A class can be declared within the scope of another class. Such a class is called a “nested class.” Nested classes are considered to be within the scope of the enclosing class and are available for use within that scope.
Can We declare a top level class as private or protected?
No, we cannot declare a top-level class as private or protected. It can be either public or default (no modifier). If it does not have a modifier, it is supposed to have a default access. Syntax. If a top-level class is declared as private the compiler will complain that the modifier private is not allowed here.
How to declare a class as protected in Java?
We can declare the inner classes as private or protected, but it is not allowed in outer classes. More than one top-level class can be defined in a Java source file, but there can be at most one public top-level class declaration. The file name must match the name of the public class. Declare the class as Protected
Why can’t we use private or protected keywords while declaring outer classes?
As soon as we try to use private or protected keyword while declaring an outer class compiler gives a compilation error saying “Illegal modifier for the class your_class_name; only public, abstract & final are permitted”. Here in this article, we are going to study why we are not allowed to use these keywords while declaring outer classes.
What is the difference between class protected and package private in Java?
Since there’s no such concept as ‘subpackage’ or ‘package-inheritance’ in Java, declaring class protected or package-private would be the same thing. You can declare nested and inner classes as protected or private, though.