What are different types of access modifiers available in C#?

Csharp Server Side Programming Programming

Access modifiers are used to specify the scope of accessibility of a member of a class or type of the class itself. There are six different types of access modifiers.

Public
Private
Protected
Internal
Protected Internal
Private Protected

Public Access Modifier

Objects that implement public access modifiers are accessible from everywhere in a project without any restrictions.

Example

using System;
namespace MyApplication{
   public class Program{
      public static void Main(){
         Person person = new Person();
         Console.WriteLine(person.Name);
         //Person Name is accessible as it is public
      }
   }
   public class Person{
      public string Name = "Mark";
   }
}

Private Access Modifier

Objects that implement private access modifier are accessible only inside a class or a structure. As a result, we can’t access them outside the class they are created.

Example

using System;
namespace MyApplication{
   public class Program{
      public static void Main(){
         Person person = new Person();
         Console.WriteLine(person.Name);
         //Since Name is private it is not accessible in Program class.
         // Error: Person.Name is inaccessible due to its protection level.
      }
   }
   public class Person{
      private string Name = "Mark";
   }
}

Protected Access Modifier

The protected keyword implies that the object is accessible inside the class and in all classes that derive from that class.

Example

using System;
namespace MyApplication{
   public class Program{
      public static void Main(){
         Employee employee = new Employee();
         employee.Print(); //Output: Mark
         Person person = new Person();
         Console.WriteLine(person.Name);
         // Error: Person.Name is inaccessible due to its protection level.
      }
   }
   public class Person{
      protected string Name = "Mark";
   }
   public class Employee : Person{
      public void Print(){
         Console.WriteLine(Name);
      }
   }
}

Internal Access Modifier

For Internal keyword, the access is limited exclusively to classes defined within the current project assembly.

Example

Project 1 −

Live Demo

using System;
namespace MyApplication{
   public class Program{
      public static void Main(){
         Person person = new Person();
         Console.WriteLine(person.Name); //Output: Mark
      }
   }
   public class Person{
      internal string Name = "Mark";
   }
}

Output

Mark

Project 2 −

using MyApplication;
using System;
namespace Project2{
   public class Project2Class{
      public void Print(){
         Person person = new Person();
         Console.WriteLine(person.Name);
         // Error: Person.Name is inaccessible due to its protection level.
      }
   }
}

Protected Internal Access Modifier −

The protected internal access modifier is a combination of protected and internal. As a result, we can access the protected internal member only in the same assembly or in a derived class in other assemblies.

Example

Project 1 −

Live Demo

using System;
namespace MyApplication{
   public class Program{
      public static void Main(){
         Person person = new Person();
         Console.WriteLine(person.Name); //Output: Mark
      }
   }
   public class Person{
      protected internal string Name = "Mark";
   }
}

Output

Mark

Project 2 −

using MyApplication;
using System;
namespace Project2{
   public class Project2Class : Person{
      public void Print(){
         Console.WriteLine(Name); //Output: Mark
      }
   }
}

Private Protected Access Modifier

The private protected access modifier is a combination of the private and protected keywords. We can access members inside the containing class or in a class that derives from a containing class, but only in the same assembly(project). Therefore, if we try to access it from another assembly, we will get an error. This modifier is valid in C# version 7.2 and later.

Nizamuddin Siddiqui

Published on 04-Aug-2020 06:43:17

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