---
title: "Access Specifier in java"  
description: "Access specifier is a mechanism which restricts user to access the data to different classes. Java provides three types of access specifier.  Public:"  
author: "Amit Singh"  
published: 2011-10-08  
updated: 2020-03-04  
canonical: https://www.mindstick.com/articles/748/access-specifier-in-java  
category: "java"  
tags: ["java"]  
reading_time: 2 minutes  

---

# Access Specifier in java

Access specifier is a mechanism which restricts user to access the data to different classes. Java provides three types of access specifier.\

Public: It is keyword in java used in a method or variable declaration. It signifies that the method or variable can be accessed by elements residing in other classes also.Private: It is keyword in java used in a method or variable declaration. It signifies that the method or variable can be accessed by other elements of its class.Protected: It is keyword in java used in a method or variable declaration. It signifies that the method or variable can be accessed by elements residing in its class, subclasses, or classes in the same package.

Note: Default access specifier in java is public.

##### Example:

Here is simple demonstration how to use the access specifier in java?.\

```
 class Base {   private int x;        protected int y;    public int z;       Base()       {         x=10;          y=20;           z=30;                }                void show()                {                   System.out.println(x);                   System.out.println(y);                   System.out.println(z);                } }   class Derived extends Base       {          public int a;          private int b;          protected int c;           Derived()             {                 a=40;                 b=50;                 c=60;                }                void show()                {                  System.out.println(a);                  System.out.println(b);                  System.out.println(c);                }                public static void main(String args[])                {                   Derived d=new Derived();                    d.show();                   System.out.println(x);                    System.out.println(y);                    System.out.println(a);                    System.out.println(b);                    System.out.println(c);                } }
```

This chart show the area where allow the access specifier.

| ## Access Specifier | ## Base Class | ## Derived Class | ## Outside Class |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ## Private | True | False | False |
| ## Protected | True | True | False |
| ## Public | True | True | True |

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Original Source: https://www.mindstick.com/articles/748/access-specifier-in-java

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