In Python, the concept of private methods is implemented differently compared to languages like Java or C++. Python's private methods are not strictly private but are instead based on a naming convention that serves as a gentle warning to developers rather than a strict enforcement mechanism.
Name Mangling: The Core Mechanism
Python uses a technique called name mangling to make it harder to access certain methods and attributes from outside their class. Any identifier with two leading underscores (like __method) is textually altered by the Python interpreter to include the class name as a prefix (e.g., _ClassName__method). This transformation makes it more difficult to access or modify these methods and attributes from outside the class[1][3][4][5][8][9][10].
Philosophical Approach: "We're All Consenting Adults"
Python's approach to private methods is guided by a philosophy often summarized as "we're all consenting adults here." This means that while Python provides mechanisms to indicate that certain methods and attributes are intended for internal use only (through name mangling), it ultimately trusts developers to respect these conventions without enforcing them strictly[2][3][4][5][6][7][9][12].
Practical Reasons for Not Enforcing Strict Privacy
Flexibility and Trust: Python's design emphasizes readability and flexibility. By not enforcing strict privacy, Python allows more flexibility in how classes and objects are used and extended. It trusts developers to follow convention and use private methods and attributes responsibly[1][3][4].
Ease of Debugging and Testing: If methods were truly private, it could complicate debugging and unit testing. Being able to access these methods from outside the class, albeit not straightforwardly, aids in testing and debugging class internals without needing to ...
