From: Matt Gushee <mgushee@...>
Date: 2002-09-06T00:50:09+09:00
Subject: Re: Ruby aesthetics

On Fri, Sep 06, 2002 at 12:33:23AM +0900, Gavin Sinclair wrote:
> 
> > (Sure, there is a way around this in
> > Python, but it has to be manually made by the programmer, not built-in in
> > the language itself.)
> 
> AFAIK, you can't make data private in Python.

No, you can't. You can prevent a module or class from *exporting* a name
by prefixing it with a single underscore ... but anyone who knows that
name exists can still use it in qualified form. You can take this one
step further by prepending __  (double underscore) to an instance
method name, and the byte-compiler will generate an obfuscated name,
providing pseudo-privacy ... but it does so in a predictable fashion, so
it is still possible to access the method if you really want to.

These were deliberate design choices. The philosophy behind it is that
an API should be a guide for developers, not a straitjacket.

-- 
Matt Gushee
Englewood, Colorado, USA
mgushee@havenrock.com
http://www.havenrock.com/