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Access Control and Static Keyword in JAVA

The document discusses access control and the static keyword in Java. It explains that access control determines whether classes can access fields and methods of other classes. There are public, private, protected, and package-private access levels for both classes and class members. The static keyword is used for variables and methods that are common to all objects of a class rather than being instance-specific. Static variables are associated with the class rather than objects, and static methods can only access static data and call other static methods.

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Satyam Singh
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71 views

Access Control and Static Keyword in JAVA

The document discusses access control and the static keyword in Java. It explains that access control determines whether classes can access fields and methods of other classes. There are public, private, protected, and package-private access levels for both classes and class members. The static keyword is used for variables and methods that are common to all objects of a class rather than being instance-specific. Static variables are associated with the class rather than objects, and static methods can only access static data and call other static methods.

Uploaded by

Satyam Singh
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© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Access Control and Static Keyword

Lecture 8
Prof. Anita Agrawal,
BITS-Pilani, K.K.Birla Goa campus
Controlling access to members of a class

 Access level modifiers determine whether other classes


can use a particular field or invoke a particular method.
 Two levels of access control:
 At the top level—public, or package-private (no explicit
modifier).
 At the member level—public, private, protected, or package-
private (no explicit modifier).
 Class modifiers:
 Public: The class is visible to all classes everywhere
 Package-Private: (default): visible only within its own package
 Class Member modifiers:
 Public modifier: The member is visible everywhere

 Package Private: The member is visible only within the package


in which it has been defined

 Protected: The member can only be accessed within its own


package (as with package-private) and, in addition, by a subclass
of its class in another package

 Private: the member can only be accessed in its own class.


Access levels, why???
 Access levels affect you in two ways.
 First, when you use classes that come from another source,
such as the classes in the Java platform, access levels determine
which members of those classes your own classes can use.

 Second, when you write a class, you need to decide what


access level every member variable and every method in your
class should have.
Tips on choosing access level
 If other programmers use your class, you want to ensure
that errors from misuse should not happen. Access levels
can help you do this.

 Use the most restrictive access level that makes sense for a
particular member. Use private unless you have a good reason
not to.

 Avoid public fields except for constants. Public fields tend to


link you to a particular implementation and limit your flexibility
in changing your code.
Encapsulation

 Access Control is an important aspect of Encapsulation

 It is the mechanism that binds together code and the data


it manipulates
Another Example
//Java program to illustrate using class from different class with
private modifier
Output-
class Honda Output-
error: display() has private access in A
{ error: display() has private access in Honda
private void display() obj.display();
amaze.display();
{
System.out.println(―Private");
}
}
class B
{
public static void main(String args[])
{
Honda amaze = new Honda();
//trying to access private method of another class
amaze.display();
}
}
Static modifier

 When a number of objects are created from the same


class, they each have their own distinct copies of instance
variables.
 Each object will have its own values for these variables,
stored in different memory locations.
 Sometimes, we want to have variables that are common
to all objects.
 Use static modifier
 Static variables are associated with the class, rather than with
any object.
 Every instance of the class shares the class variable, which is in
one fixed location in memory.
Static keyword
 The static keyword is used mainly for memory
management.

 It is applicable to
 blocks
 variables
 nested classes
 methods
Static Keyword

 It precedes variable declaration with the keyword static


and is common to all objects.

 Ways of intialisation:
 Directly: modifier(if any) static var_type var_name;
Example: public static int x =2;
or……….
 Declare a static block
Example: static int x;
static {
x = 2;
}
 Any object can change the value of the class variable, but class
variables can also be manipulated without creating an instance
of the class.

 Syntax: class_name . var_name = value;


 Example: class A. x = 3;
Static Methods
 Methods can also be declared as static.
 For Example in public static void main() – main() can be called without
creating an object

 Restrictions
 They can only access static data
 They can call only other static methods
 They can’t refer to this or super(Inheritance)

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