Can a object be private and public?

Question

Can a reference to an object be private in class while other object can have a public reference to the same class(post script: new to java+ a simple example please). I read somewhere that this prob is regarding aliasing? Sorry my title may not make sense!

Answer 1

Objects aren't private or public. Fields can be private or public. Fields can hold references to objects. An object can be referred to by both private and public fields simultaneously:

public class Example {
    public static Object a;
    private static Object b;

    public static void main(String... args) {
        Object foo = new Object();
        a = foo;
        b = foo;
        // Now our Object is referred to by the public field a, the private
        // field b, and the local variable foo (which is not considered either
        // private or public).
    }
}