• Encapsulation is an essential concept in object-oriented programming that promotes data hiding and helps maintain code integrity.

• In Python, although there are no strict access modifiers like in some other languages, developers can use naming conventions to indicate the intended visibility of class members.

Private Members

• Private members in Python are denoted by a double underscore (__) prefix before the variable or method name.

• By convention, this prefix indicates that the member is intended for internal use within the class and should not be accessed directly from outside.

Example:

class MyClass:
    def __init__(self):
        self.__private_var = 100

    def __private_method(self):
        print("This is a private method.")

    def public_method(self):
        self.__private_method()
        print(f"The private variable value is: {self.__private_var}")


obj = MyClass()
obj.public_method()

This is a private method.
The private variable value is: 100

In the above example, __private_var and __private_method are private members of the MyClass class. They are accessed within the class using the double underscore prefix. If we want to access the private variable from outside like obj.__private_method() then it shows AttributeError

Protected Members

• Protected members in Python are denoted by a single underscore (_) prefix before the variable or method name.

• By convention, this prefix suggests that the member is intended to be used within the class and its subclasses.

• Though protected members can still be accessed from outside the class, developers should treat them as non-public, discouraging direct access.

Example:

class BaseClass:
    def __init__(self):
        self._protected_var = 10

    def _protected_method(self):
        print("This is a protected method.")

class SubClass(BaseClass):
    def access_protected(self):
        print(f"The protected variable value is: {self._protected_var}")
        self._protected_method()


obj = SubClass()
obj.access_protected()

In this example, _protected_var and _protected_method are protected members within the BaseClass. They are accessible within the class and its subclasses.