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iosobjective-ccocoaprivate

What does "@private" mean in Objective-C?

What does @private mean in Objective-C?

Solution

  • It's a visibility modifier—it means that instance variables declared as @private can only be accessed by instances of the same class. Private members cannot be accessed by subclasses or other classes.

    For example:

    @interface MyClass : NSObject
{
    @private
    int someVar;  // Can only be accessed by instances of MyClass

    @public
    int aPublicVar;  // Can be accessed by any object
}
@end

    Also, to clarify, methods are always public in Objective-C. There are ways of "hiding" method declarations, though—see this question for more information.