In this Java Tutorial, you will learn what access modifiers are in Java, how modifiers are helpful in controlling the access to a class or members of a class.
Access Modifiers in Java
There are two types in access modifiers
- Class Level Modifiers – These modifiers control access to a class.
- public
- default
- Class-Member Level Modifiers – These modifiers control access to the members of a class: methods and properties.
- public
- private
- protected
- default
Class Level Modifiers
The syntax to specify a modifier for Class is as shown below.
modifier class ClassName{ ... }| modifier | could be public / default |
| class | is the standard keyword to define a class |
| ClassName | is the name of the class |
1. public – Class Level Modifier
The modifier, public, makes the class visible/accessible to the classes everywhere. A sample code snippet to make a class, which is accessible to public, is shown below:
public class MyClass{
...
}2. default – Class Level Modifier
By default, if no modifier is given to a class, its visible only to the classes present in same package as that of the class. A sample code snippet to make a class, which is accessible by default only to classes in the same path as of itself, is shown below:
class MyClass{
...
}Diagrammatic Representation of Class Modifiers in Java
The following diagram depicts the public, default accessibility of SampleClass.java.