C#•3y ago

❔ Classes in a namespace

I understand that a class has to be public in a namespace to work. However i understand that default scope is set to private? so in this code is Program public because it is in a namespace?

namespace HelloWorld {
    class Program {
        static void Main(string[] args) {
            Console.WriteLine("Hello, World!");
        }
    }
}

namespace HelloWorld {
    class Program {
        static void Main(string[] args) {
            Console.WriteLine("Hello, World!");
        }
    }
}

Thinker•10/21/23, 10:22 PM

Well, simplified yes, here is public.

Thinker•10/21/23, 10:22 PM

Types in namespaces cannot actually be , because they wouldn't be private to anything.

CrazieNewbOP•10/21/23, 10:24 PM

actually i just tested and all classes are defaulted to public ;p, i just assumed its private because attributes in classes are.

Thinker•10/21/23, 10:25 PM

Btw things in classes are called 'members', attributes are another thing

Thinker•10/21/23, 10:26 PM

Both types and members in types default to the lowest possible accessibility. For members that is , and for types in namespaces that is

which is essentially the same thing as .

CrazieNewbOP•10/21/23, 10:26 PM

i was tryan use the write term, i normally call it variable ;p

CrazieNewbOP•10/21/23, 10:27 PM

i dont understand internal, vs defaults the template to make it internal

CrazieNewbOP•10/21/23, 10:27 PM

as i read online, it said it limits the scope to the "assembly"? which is the whole application?

Thinker•10/21/23, 10:29 PM

pretty much

Thinker•10/21/23, 10:30 PM

C# applications consist of one or more projects, each of which contains multiple classes. If a class (or anything else) is then only classes inside the same project can access it.

CrazieNewbOP•10/21/23, 10:31 PM

that seems like you want internal to be default, unless your explicitly coding an api or library

Thinker•10/21/23, 10:31 PM

yeah

Thinker•10/21/23, 10:31 PM

Although in practice you should always specify the accessibility to make things more readable.

InsertPi•10/21/23, 10:37 PM

im writing a library and i use internal a ton

InsertPi•10/21/23, 10:38 PM

if a class in my library is internal, other classes in my library can use it, but it’s invisible to users of my library

IInsertPi if a class in my library is internal, other classes in my library can use it, bu...

CrazieNewbOP•10/21/23, 10:38 PM

exactly what i mean, you never want your classes to be used unless its specifically meant to be

InsertPi•10/21/23, 10:38 PM

so like if i have some data structure that i need to implement, i might use internal for that because the user probably won’t need to know it exists

CCrazieNewb exactly what i mean, you never want your classes to be used unless its specifica...

InsertPi•10/21/23, 10:39 PM

100%

CrazieNewbOP•10/21/23, 10:39 PM

it feels like it should be defaulted to internal, and a keyword should be used to make it accesable

Thinker•10/21/23, 10:39 PM

I mean, that's exactly how it is

Thinker•10/21/23, 10:39 PM

internal is the default, and you have to explicitly specify that something should be public

CrazieNewbOP•10/21/23, 10:39 PM

oh it is?

Thinker•10/21/23, 10:39 PM

yes

Thinker•10/21/23, 10:39 PM

default is the lowest accessibility

CrazieNewbOP•10/21/23, 10:40 PM

ah well im dumb

InsertPi•10/21/23, 10:40 PM

as a rule i dont use default accessibility modifiers for anything. i always explicitly declare them because it’s easier for me to glance at a definition and know exactly where and how it can be used

CrazieNewbOP•10/21/23, 10:40 PM

vsc auto generated the file with my main Program class being set to internal manually.

CrazieNewbOP•10/21/23, 10:40 PM

so i assumed its not default

IInsertPi as a rule i dont use default accessibility modifiers for anything. i always expl...

CrazieNewbOP•10/21/23, 10:41 PM

that what vsc did i guess, i should adopt that too

InsertPi•10/21/23, 10:41 PM

i have no idea whether it’s good or bad practice, but it helps me so i do it

CrazieNewbOP•10/21/23, 10:41 PM

in the end thats exactly what scopes are for

CrazieNewbOP•10/21/23, 10:42 PM