Software Architect's Handbook

Visibility

Visibility dictates the accessibility of a member (attribute or operation) and can be designated by placing a notation before the member's name. In general, you want to give only as much accessibility as is needed. The following table details the most common visibility notations:

Notation	Visibility	Description
+	Public	Member is accessible by other types.
#	Protected	Member is accessible within the same type as well as types that inherit from it.
~	Package	Member is accessible from any type within the same package. It is not accessible from outside the package, even if it is an inheriting class.
-	Private	Member is accessible only within the type that declares it.

For example, the following diagram ...