What are the best practices for using access modifiers in C#?

What are the best practices for using access modifiers in C#?

In C#, access modifiers control the visibility of classes and class members. Best practices include using 'private' for fields, 'public' for APIs, and 'internal' for assembly-level access.

Why should I prefer 'private' over 'public' for class members?

Using 'private' helps encapsulate your class's implementation details, reducing the risk of unintended interactions and making your code easier to maintain.

Can you give an example of when to use 'protected'?

Certainly! Use 'protected' when you want to allow derived classes to access a member while keeping it hidden from other classes. This is useful in inheritance scenarios.

What about 'internal'? When should I use that?

'Internal' is great for exposing members to other classes within the same assembly while keeping them hidden from outside assemblies. It's useful for library development.