[Tutor] Private and Public variables

[Gonçalo Rodrigues]

On Wed, 8 Oct 2003 21:02:34 +0100, you wrote:

>> they are still with me. I think one of the reason's why is because I
>> tend to favor (following the gang of 4) composition to inheritance.
>
>What does that have to do with data hiding (the correct term
>for private data)?

Good question :-)

I guess this is one of those situations where by conflating the issues
in your head things just get more complicated and muddled.

[text snipped]

>> So, what do you guys think?
>
>I think your design ideas are correct, the need for data hiding
>and the implied distrust of your fellow programmers is perhaps
>more questionable.

The implied distrust is not towards my fellow programmers, is more
towards me...

But I guess I do need to relax a little more...

>
>But if you design classes to expose a behavioural interface
>then the ability or lack of to directly access data will not
>be of any concern to your users.

Exactly, that's what I try to do.

I believe the "we're all consenting adults" philosophy is the Right
Philosophy. The name-mangling feature for attributes of the form
__my_attribute is also very good IMHO, since nothing is really hidden
and a client can always work around bugs and/or missing features. At
the same time it gives a clear signal to the client that if he mucks
with this attribute he does so at his own risk.

With my best regards,
G. Rodrigues