What are the differences between public, private, and protected access modifiers?

Can you explain the differences between public, private, and protected access modifiers?

Sure! In programming, access modifiers control the visibility of class members. Public members are accessible from anywhere, private members are only accessible within the class itself, and protected members can be accessed within the class and by derived classes.

Can you give me an example of each?

Of course! For a public member, you might have a method that can be called from any other class. A private member could be a variable that only the class can modify. A protected member might be a method that can be used in the class and by any subclasses.

Why would I use protected instead of private?

Using protected allows subclasses to access certain members, which can be useful for inheritance. Private members cannot be accessed by subclasses, limiting their use.

Are there any languages that don't support these modifiers?

Yes, some languages like JavaScript do not have traditional access modifiers, but they have other ways to achieve similar encapsulation.