Delphi in a Nutshell

Name

Private Directive

Syntax

type Class declaration
private
  Field declarations...
  Property and method declarations...
end;

Description

The private directive introduces the private section of a class declaration. Private fields, methods, and properties are not accessible by other classes and subroutines, except in the same unit.

Tips and Tricks

• Declare all fields as private, and declare properties to access the fields at higher access levels: protected, public, or published. That gives you the flexibility to change the way a field is accessed, say by changing a direct field reference to a method reference. Such changes affect only the implementation of the class, and not its use.

• The private directive prevents you from calling the method directly, but the class might have other ways to call the method. The private method can be a message handler, support a public property, or implement an interface’s method.

Example

See the class keyword for an example.

See Also

Class Keyword, Protected Directive, Public Directive, Published Directive