Python - Private Methods Not Actually Private!

Today I am going to explain a small scenario,

Python gives us the ability to create 'private' methods and variables within a class by prepending double underscores to the name, like so: *__myPrivateMethod()*. How, then, can one explain this


                        
                        >>> class MyClass:
                        ...     def myPublicMethod(self):
                        ...             print 'public method'
                        ...     def __myPrivateMethod(self):
                        ...             print 'this is private!!'
                        ...
                        >>> obj = MyClass()
                        >>> obj.myPublicMethod()
                        public method
                        >>> obj.__myPrivateMethod()
                        Traceback (most recent call last):
                         File "", line 1, in
                        AttributeError: MyClass instance has no attribute '__myPrivateMethod'
                        >>> dir(obj)
                        ['_MyClass__myPrivateMethod', '__doc__', '__module__', 'myPublicMethod']
                        >>> obj._MyClass__myPrivateMethod()
                        this is private!!

What's the deal?! I'll explain this a little for those who didn't quite get that.


                        >>> class MyClass:
                        ...     def myPublicMethod(self):
                        ...             print 'public method'
                        ...     def __myPrivateMethod(self):
                        ...             print 'this is private!!'
                        ...
                        >>> obj = MyClass()

What I did there is create a class with a public method and a private method and instantiate it. Next, I call its public method.


                        >>> obj.myPublicMethod()
                        public method

Next, I try and call its private method.


                        >>> obj.__myPrivateMethod()
                        Traceback (most recent call last):
                         File "", line 1, in
                        AttributeError: MyClass instance has no attribute '__myPrivateMethod'

Everything looks good here; we're unable to call it. It is, in fact, 'private'. Well, actually it isn't. Running dir() on the object reveals a new magical method that python creates magically for all of your 'private' methods.


                        >>> dir(obj)
                        ['_MyClass__myPrivateMethod', '__doc__', '__module__', 'myPublicMethod']

This new method's name is always an underscore, followed by the class name, followed by the method name.


                        >>> obj._MyClass__myPrivateMethod()
                        this is private!!

So much for encapsulation, eh? In any case, I'd always heard Python doesn't support encapsulation, so why even try? What gives?

The name scrambling is used to ensure that subclasses don't accidentally override the private methods and attributes of their superclasses. It's not designed to prevent deliberate access from outside.

                        For example:
                        
                        >>> class Foo(object):
                        ...     def __init__(self):
                        ...         self.__baz = 42
                        ...     def foo(self):
                        ...         print self.__baz
                        ...
                        >>> class Bar(Foo):
                        ...     def __init__(self):
                        ...         super(Bar, self).__init__()
                        ...         self.__baz = 21
                        ...     def bar(self):
                        ...         print self.__baz
                        ...
                        >>> x = Bar()
                        >>> x.foo()
                        42
                        >>> x.bar()
                        21
                        >>> print x.__dict__
                        {'_Bar__baz': 21, '_Foo__baz': 42}
                        
                        Of course, it breaks down if two different classes have the same name.

Written by Vivek Soundrapandi

Published Date: {{ article.pub_date }}

View all posts by: Vivek Soundrapandi

Python - Private Methods Not Actually Private!

Written by Vivek Soundrapandi

Published Date: {{ article.pub_date }}

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