Re:Ask HN: Why do you make class members private?
by kqr on Monday July 25, 2022 @02:20PM
(#32228666)
> To clarify, I'm only talking about code in the same project that everyone has access to. I'm not talking about defining an API for other people to use that don't have access to the code, like when you make a library.
Within reason, you should treat every class as a tiny library that defines an API for other people to use.
That allows you freedom to change things within the class without breaking other code. It also makes it easier to prevent accidental misuse of the class that can leave it in weird states that aren't supposed to happen. It allows you to reason about the intended use cases of the class and write tests for them all.
Within reason, you should treat every class as a tiny library that defines an API for other people to use.
That allows you freedom to change things within the class without breaking other code. It also makes it easier to prevent accidental misuse of the class that can leave it in weird states that aren't supposed to happen. It allows you to reason about the intended use cases of the class and write tests for them all.