Ruby Language Ruby Access Modifiers Access Controls
Example
Comparison of access controls of Java against Ruby: If method is declared private in Java, it can only be accessed by other methods within the same class. If a method is declared protected it can be accessed by other classes which exist within the same package as well as by subclasses of the class in a different package. When a method is public it is visible to everyone. In Java, access control visibility concept depends on where these classes lie's in the inheritance/package hierarchy.
Whereas in Ruby, the inheritance hierarchy or the package/module don't fit. It's all about which object is the receiver of a method.
For a private method in Ruby, it can never be called with an explicit receiver. We can (only) call the private method with an implicit receiver.
This also means we can call a private method from within a class it is declared in as well as all subclasses of this class.
class Test1
def main_method
method_private
end
private
def method_private
puts "Inside methodPrivate for #{self.class}"
end
end
class Test2 < Test1
def main_method
method_private
end
end
Test1.new.main_method
Test2.new.main_method
Inside methodPrivate for Test1
Inside methodPrivate for Test2
class Test3 < Test1
def main_method
self.method_private #We were trying to call a private method with an explicit receiver and if called in the same class with self would fail.
end
end
Test1.new.main_method
This will throw NoMethodError
You can never call the private method from outside the class hierarchy where it was defined.
Protected method can be called with an implicit receiver, as like private. In addition protected method can also be called by an explicit receiver (only) if the receiver is "self" or "an object of the same class".
class Test1
def main_method
method_protected
end
protected
def method_protected
puts "InSide method_protected for #{self.class}"
end
end
class Test2 < Test1
def main_method
method_protected # called by implicit receiver
end
end
class Test3 < Test1
def main_method
self.method_protected # called by explicit receiver "an object of the same class"
end
end
InSide method_protected for Test1
InSide method_protected for Test2
InSide method_protected for Test3
class Test4 < Test1
def main_method
Test2.new.method_protected # "Test2.new is the same type of object as self"
end
end
Test4.new.main_method
class Test5
def main_method
Test2.new.method_protected
end
end
Test5.new.main_method
This would fail as object Test5 is not subclass of Test1
Consider Public methods with maximum visibility
Summary
-
Public: Public methods have maximum visibility
-
Protected: Protected method can be called with an implicit receiver, as like private. In addition protected method can also be called by an explicit receiver (only) if the receiver is "self" or "an object of the same class".
-
Private: For a private method in Ruby, it can never be called with an explicit receiver. We can (only) call the private method with an implicit receiver. This also means we can call a private method from within a class it is declared in as well as all subclasses of this class.
