[swift-evolution] access control proposal

[Nikolai Vazquez]

I agree that there should be an access level that hides implementation
details from other types in the same file. However, it shouldn’t replace
private, because 1) helper types might benefit from private elements and 2)
like you said, backwards compatibility.

On Sat, Dec 5, 2015 at 11:40 PM Ilya via swift-evolution <
swift-evolution at swift.org> wrote:

I think the it would help a great deal to have an access level modifier
> that is really private and visible only inside the class itself. Right now,
> the only way to hide implementation details for a class is to hide the
> class code in a separate file, which is very inconvenient for several
> reasons:
>
> 1) the meaning of the code changes depending on which file the class is
> in. It's very easy to accidentally expose class internal details and then
> call class elements that are meant to be used only inside the class. Having
> a keyword for class internals will allow the compiler to ensure that only
> the public API for the class is used from the outside world. The user can
> check types on his own, but it's better that the compiler does it
> automatically. Similarly, the user can check that only the proper APIs are
> called, but it's better that the compiler does it automatically.
>
> 2) accessibility by file structure may cause some really short files.
>
> 3) It's impossible to group related classes in one file but still hide
> implementation details inside each class
>
> I think that it the best solution is to make private keyword do what it
> states -- keep the class element private to the class. But if it's really
> important to have a separate keyword for backward compatibility, it would
> be the next best thing.
>
> --
> Ilya Belenkiy
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