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C# C# Objects Encapsulation and Arrays Encapsulation

Marina Gulakova
Marina Gulakova
3,145 Points

If one class inherits another class, can it use inherited class' private methods, fields, constructor?

This question in regards to a quiz question: If all parts of a class (fields, methods, constructor, etc) are declared private is there any way for other classes to use this class?

So, the correct answer is No. However, if another class inherits this class, then it could use all the private fields, methods, constructor, etc., couldn't it? If so, then the correct answer is Yes.

1 Answer

Steven Parker
Steven Parker
229,784 Points

No, private fields cannot be used by inheritance.

That's what "protected" is for. It allows use through inheritance, but it's not public.