The primary constructor in a derived class must invoke one of the parent class constructors, either the primary constructor or an auxiliary constructor. In the following example, a class derived from ButtonWithCallbacks, called RadioButtonWithCallbacks, invokes the primary ButtonWithCallbacks constructor. “Radio” buttons can be either on or off.

// code-examples/BasicOOP/ui/radio-button-callbacks.scala

package ui

/**
 * Button with two states, on or off, like an old-style,
 * channel-selection button on a radio.
 */
class RadioButtonWithCallbacks(
  var on: Boolean, label: String, clickedCallbacks: List[() => Unit])
      extends ButtonWithCallbacks(label, clickedCallbacks) {

  def this(on: Boolean, label: String, clickedCallback: () => Unit) =
      this(on, label, List(clickedCallback))

  def this(on: Boolean, label: String) = this(on, label, Nil)
}

The primary constructor for RadioButtonWithCallbacks takes three parameters: an on state (true or false), a label, and a list of callbacks. It passes the label and list of callbacks to its parent class, ButtonWithCallbacks. The on parameter is declared as a var, so it is mutable. on is also the one constructor parameter unique to a radio button, so it is kept as an attribute of RadioButtonWithCallbacks.

For consistency with its parent class, RadioButtonWithCallbacks also declares two auxiliary constructors. Note that they must invoke a preceding constructor in RadioButtonWithCallbacks, as before. They can’t invoke a ButtonWithCallbacks constructor directly. Declaring all these constructors in each class could get tedious after a while, but we explored techniques in Chapter 4, Traits that can eliminate repetition.

Any declaration without a visibility keyword is “public”, meaning it is visible everywhere. There is no public keyword in Scala. This is in contrast to Java, which defaults to public visibility only within the enclosing package (i.e., “package private”). Other object-oriented languages, like Ruby, also default to public visibility.

// code-examples/BasicOOP/scoping/public.scala

package scopeA {
  class PublicClass1 {
    val publicField = 1

    class Nested {
      val nestedField = 1
    }

    val nested = new Nested
  }

  class PublicClass2 extends PublicClass1 {
    val field2  = publicField + 1
    val nField2 = new Nested().nestedField
  }
}

package scopeB {
  class PublicClass1B extends scopeA.PublicClass1

  class UsingClass(val publicClass: scopeA.PublicClass1) {
    def method = "UsingClass:" +
      " field: " + publicClass.publicField +
      " nested field: " + publicClass.nested.nestedField
  }
}

You can compile this file with scalac. It should compile without error.

Everything is public in these packages and classes. Note that scopeB.UsingClass can access scopeA.PublicClass1 and its members, including the instance of Nested and its public field.

Protected visibility is for the benefit of implementers of derived types, who need a little more access to the details of their parent types. Any member declared with the protected keyword is visible only to the defining type, including other instances of the same type and any derived types. When applied to a type, protected limits visibility to the enclosing package.

Java, in contrast, makes protected members visible throughout the enclosing package. Scala handles this case with scoped private and protected access.

// code-examples/BasicOOP/scoping/protected-wont-compile.scala
// WON'T COMPILE

package scopeA {
  class ProtectedClass1(protected val protectedField1: Int) {
    protected val protectedField2 = 1

    def equalFields(other: ProtectedClass1) =
      (protectedField1 == other.protectedField1) &&
      (protectedField1 == other.protectedField1) &&
      (nested == other.nested)

    class Nested {
      protected val nestedField = 1
    }

    protected val nested = new Nested
  }

  class ProtectedClass2 extends ProtectedClass1(1) {
    val field1 = protectedField1
    val field2 = protectedField2
    val nField = new Nested().nestedField  // ERROR
  }

  class ProtectedClass3 {
    val protectedClass1 = new ProtectedClass1(1)
    val protectedField1 = protectedClass1.protectedField1 // ERROR
    val protectedField2 = protectedClass1.protectedField2 // ERROR
    val protectedNField = protectedClass1.nested.nestedField // ERROR
  }

  protected class ProtectedClass4

  class ProtectedClass5 extends ProtectedClass4
  protected class ProtectedClass6 extends ProtectedClass4
}

package scopeB {
  class ProtectedClass4B extends scopeA.ProtectedClass4 // ERROR
}

When you compile this file with scalac, you get the following output. (The file name before the N: line numbers have been removed from the output to better fit the space.)

16: error: value nestedField cannot be accessed in ProtectedClass2.this.Nested
        val nField = new Nested().nestedField
                                  ^
20: error: value protectedField1 cannot be accessed in scopeA.ProtectedClass1
        val protectedField1 = protectedClass1.protectedField1
                                              ^
21: error: value protectedField2 cannot be accessed in scopeA.ProtectedClass1
        val protectedField2 = protectedClass1.protectedField2
                                              ^
22: error: value nested cannot be accessed in scopeA.ProtectedClass1
        val protectedNField = protectedClass1.nested.nestedField
                                              ^
32: error: class ProtectedClass4 cannot be accessed in package scopeA
    class ProtectedClass4B extends scopeA.ProtectedClass4
                                          ^
5 errors found

The // ERROR comments in the listing mark the lines that fail to parse.

ProtectedClass2 can access protected members of ProtectedClass1 since it derives from it. However, it can’t access the protected nestedField in protectedClass1.nested. Also, ProtectedClass3 can’t access protected members of the ProtectedClass1 instance it uses.

Finally, because ProtectedClass4 is declared protected, it is not visible in the scopeB package.

Private visibility completely hides implementation details, even from the implementers of derived classes. Any member declared with the private keyword is visible only to the defining type, including other instances of the same type. When applied to a type, private limits visibility to the enclosing package.

// code-examples/BasicOOP/scoping/private-wont-compile.scala
// WON'T COMPILE

package scopeA {
  class PrivateClass1(private val privateField1: Int) {
    private val privateField2 = 1

    def equalFields(other: PrivateClass1) =
      (privateField1 == other.privateField1) &&
      (privateField2 == other.privateField2) &&
      (nested == other.nested)

    class Nested {
      private val nestedField = 1
    }

    private val nested = new Nested
  }

  class PrivateClass2 extends PrivateClass1(1) {
    val field1 = privateField1  // ERROR
    val field2 = privateField2  // ERROR
    val nField = new Nested().nestedField // ERROR
  }

  class PrivateClass3 {
    val privateClass1 = new PrivateClass1(1)
    val privateField1 = privateClass1.privateField1 // ERROR
    val privateField2 = privateClass1.privateField2 // ERROR
    val privateNField = privateClass1.nested.nestedField // ERROR
  }

  private class PrivateClass4

  class PrivateClass5 extends PrivateClass4  // ERROR
  protected class PrivateClass6 extends PrivateClass4 // ERROR
  private class PrivateClass7 extends PrivateClass4
}

package scopeB {
  class PrivateClass4B extends scopeA.PrivateClass4  // ERROR
}

Compiling this file yields the following output.

14: error: not found: value privateField1
        val field1 = privateField1
                     ^
15: error: not found: value privateField2
        val field2 = privateField2
                     ^
16: error: value nestedField cannot be accessed in PrivateClass2.this.Nested
        val nField = new Nested().nestedField
                                  ^
20: error: value privateField1 cannot be accessed in scopeA.PrivateClass1
        val privateField1 = privateClass1.privateField1
                                          ^
21: error: value privateField2 cannot be accessed in scopeA.PrivateClass1
        val privateField2 = privateClass1.privateField2
                                          ^
22: error: value nested cannot be accessed in scopeA.PrivateClass1
        val privateNField = privateClass1.nested.nestedField
                                          ^
27: error: private class PrivateClass4 escapes its defining scope as part
of type scopeA.PrivateClass4
    class PrivateClass5 extends PrivateClass4
                                ^
28: error: private class PrivateClass4 escapes its defining scope as part
of type scopeA.PrivateClass4
    protected class PrivateClass6 extends PrivateClass4
                                          ^
33: error: class PrivateClass4 cannot be accessed in package scopeA
    class PrivateClass4B extends scopeA.PrivateClass4
                                        ^
9 errors found

Now, PrivateClass2 can’t access private members of its parent class PrivateClass1. They are completely invisible to the subclass, as indicated by the error messages. Nor can it access a private field in a Nested class.

Just as for the case of protected access, PrivateClass3 can’t access private members of the PrivateClass1 instance it is using. Note, however, that the equalFields method can access private members of the other instance.

The declarations of PrivateClass5 and PrivateClass6 fail, because if allowed, they would enable PrivateClass4 to “escape its defining scope”. However, the declaration of PrivateClass7 succeeds, because it is also declared to be private. Curiously, our previous example was able to declare a public class that subclassed a protected class without a similar error.

Finally, just as for protected type declarations, the private types can’t be subclassed outside the same package.

Scala allows you to fine-tune the scope of visibility with the scoped private and protected visibility declarations. Note that using private or protected in a scoped declaration is interchangeable, as they behave identically, except under inheritance when applied to members.

Let’s begin by considering the only differences in behavior between scoped private and scoped public, how they behave under inheritance when members have these scopes.

// code-examples/BasicOOP/scoping/scope-inheritance-wont-compile.scala
// WON'T COMPILE

package scopeA {
  class Class1 {
    private[scopeA]   val scopeA_privateField = 1
    protected[scopeA] val scopeA_protectedField = 2
    private[Class1]   val class1_privateField = 3
    protected[Class1] val class1_protectedField = 4
    private[this]     val this_privateField = 5
    protected[this]   val this_protectedField = 6
  }

  class Class2 extends Class1 {
    val field1 = scopeA_privateField
    val field2 = scopeA_protectedField
    val field3 = class1_privateField     // ERROR
    val field4 = class1_protectedField
    val field5 = this_privateField       // ERROR
    val field6 = this_protectedField
  }
}

package scopeB {
  class Class2B extends scopeA.Class1 {
    val field1 = scopeA_privateField     // ERROR
    val field2 = scopeA_protectedField
    val field3 = class1_privateField     // ERROR
    val field4 = class1_protectedField
    val field5 = this_privateField       // ERROR
    val field6 = this_protectedField
  }
}

Compiling this file yields the following output.

17: error: not found: value class1_privateField
    val field3 = class1_privateField     // ERROR
                 ^
19: error: not found: value this_privateField
    val field5 = this_privateField       // ERROR
                 ^
26: error: not found: value scopeA_privateField
    val field1 = scopeA_privateField     // ERROR
                 ^
28: error: not found: value class1_privateField
    val field3 = class1_privateField     // ERROR
                 ^
30: error: not found: value this_privateField
    val field5 = this_privateField       // ERROR
                 ^
5 errors found

The first two errors, inside Class2, show us that a derived class inside the same package can’t reference a member that is scoped private to the parent class or this, but it can reference a private member scoped to the package (or type) that encloses both Class1 and Class2.

In contrast, for a derived class outside the same package, it has no access to any of the scoped private members of Class1.

However, all the scoped protected members are visible in both derived classes.

We’ll use scoped private declarations for the rest of our examples and discussion, since use of scoped private is a little more common in the Scala library than scoped protected, when the previous inheritance scenarios aren’t a factor.

First, let’s start with the most restrictive visibility, private[this], as it affects type members.

// code-examples/BasicOOP/scoping/private-this-wont-compile.scala
// WON'T COMPILE

package scopeA {
  class PrivateClass1(private[this] val privateField1: Int) {
    private[this] val privateField2 = 1

    def equalFields(other: PrivateClass1) =
      (privateField1 == other.privateField1) && // ERROR
      (privateField2 == other.privateField2) &&
      (nested == other.nested)

    class Nested {
      private[this] val nestedField = 1
    }

    private[this] val nested = new Nested
  }

  class PrivateClass2 extends PrivateClass1(1) {
    val field1 = privateField1  // ERROR
    val field2 = privateField2  // ERROR
    val nField = new Nested().nestedField  // ERROR
  }

  class PrivateClass3 {
    val privateClass1 = new PrivateClass1(1)
    val privateField1 = privateClass1.privateField1  // ERROR
    val privateField2 = privateClass1.privateField2  // ERROR
    val privateNField = privateClass1.nested.nestedField // ERROR
  }
}

Compiling this file yields the following output.

5: error: value privateField1 is not a member of scopeA.PrivateClass1
            (privateField1 == other.privateField1) &&
                                    ^
14: error: not found: value privateField1
        val field1 = privateField1
                     ^
15: error: not found: value privateField2
        val field2 = privateField2
                     ^
16: error: value nestedField is not a member of PrivateClass2.this.Nested
        val nField = new Nested().nestedField
                                  ^
20: error: value privateField1 is not a member of scopeA.PrivateClass1
        val privateField1 = privateClass1.privateField1
                                          ^
21: error: value privateField2 is not a member of scopeA.PrivateClass1
        val privateField2 = privateClass1.privateField2
                                          ^
22: error: value nested is not a member of scopeA.PrivateClass1
        val privateNField = privateClass1.nested.nestedField
                                          ^
7 errors found

The private[this] members are only visible to the same instance. An instance of the same class can’t see private[this] members of another instance, so the equalFields method won’t parse.

Otherwise, the visibility of class members is the same as private without a scope specifier.

When declaring a type with private[this], use of this effectively binds to the enclosing package, as shown here.

// code-examples/BasicOOP/scoping/private-this-pkg-wont-compile.scala
// WON'T COMPILE

package scopeA {
  private[this] class PrivateClass1

  package scopeA2 {
    private[this] class PrivateClass2
  }

  class PrivateClass3 extends PrivateClass1  // ERROR
  protected class PrivateClass4 extends PrivateClass1 // ERROR
  private class PrivateClass5 extends PrivateClass1
  private[this] class PrivateClass6 extends PrivateClass1

  private[this] class PrivateClass7 extends scopeA2.PrivateClass2 // ERROR
}

package scopeB {
  class PrivateClass1B extends scopeA.PrivateClass1 // ERROR
}

Compiling this file yields the following output.

8: error: private class PrivateClass1 escapes its defining scope as part
of type scopeA.PrivateClass1
    class PrivateClass3 extends PrivateClass1
                                ^
9: error: private class PrivateClass1 escapes its defining scope as part
of type scopeA.PrivateClass1
    protected class PrivateClass4 extends PrivateClass1
                                          ^
13: error: type PrivateClass2 is not a member of package scopeA.scopeA2
    private[this] class PrivateClass7 extends scopeA2.PrivateClass2
                                                      ^
17: error: type PrivateClass1 is not a member of package scopeA
    class PrivateClass1B extends scopeA.PrivateClass1
                                        ^
four errors found

In the same package, attempting to declare a public or protected subclass fails. Only private and private[this] subclasses are allowed. Also, PrivateClass2 is scoped to scopeA2, so you can’t declare it outside scopeA2. Similarly an attempt to declare a class in unrelated scopeB using PrivateClass1 also fails.

Hence, when applied to types, private[this] is equivalent to Java’s package private visibility.

Next, let’s examine type-level visibility, private[T], where T is a type.

// code-examples/BasicOOP/scoping/private-type-wont-compile.scala
// WON'T COMPILE

package scopeA {
  class PrivateClass1(private[PrivateClass1] val privateField1: Int) {
    private[PrivateClass1] val privateField2 = 1

    def equalFields(other: PrivateClass1) =
      (privateField1 == other.privateField1) &&
      (privateField2 == other.privateField2) &&
      (nested  == other.nested)

    class Nested {
      private[Nested] val nestedField = 1
    }

    private[PrivateClass1] val nested = new Nested
    val nestedNested = nested.nestedField   // ERROR
  }

  class PrivateClass2 extends PrivateClass1(1) {
    val field1 = privateField1  // ERROR
    val field2 = privateField2  // ERROR
    val nField = new Nested().nestedField  // ERROR
  }

  class PrivateClass3 {
    val privateClass1 = new PrivateClass1(1)
    val privateField1 = privateClass1.privateField1  // ERROR
    val privateField2 = privateClass1.privateField2  // ERROR
    val privateNField = privateClass1.nested.nestedField // ERROR
  }
}

Compiling this file yields the following output.

12: error: value nestedField cannot be accessed in PrivateClass1.this.Nested
        val nestedNested = nested.nestedField
                                  ^
15: error: not found: value privateField1
        val field1 = privateField1
                     ^
16: error: not found: value privateField2
        val field2 = privateField2
                     ^
17: error: value nestedField cannot be accessed in PrivateClass2.this.Nested
        val nField = new Nested().nestedField
                                  ^
21: error: value privateField1 cannot be accessed in scopeA.PrivateClass1
        val privateField1 = privateClass1.privateField1
                                          ^
22: error: value privateField2 cannot be accessed in scopeA.PrivateClass1
        val privateField2 = privateClass1.privateField2
                                          ^
23: error: value nested cannot be accessed in scopeA.PrivateClass1
        val privateNField = privateClass1.nested.nestedField
                                          ^
7 errors found

A private[PrivateClass1] member is visible to other instances, so the equalFields method now parses. Hence, private[T] is not as restrictive as private[this]. Note that PrivateClass1 can’t see Nested.nestedField, because that field is declared private[Nested].

What if we change the scope of Nested.nestedField to be private[PrivateClass1]? Let’s see see how private[T] affects nested types.

// code-examples/BasicOOP/scoping/private-type-nested-wont-compile.scala
// WON'T COMPILE

package scopeA {
  class PrivateClass1 {
    class Nested {
      private[PrivateClass1] val nestedField = 1
    }

    private[PrivateClass1] val nested = new Nested
    val nestedNested = nested.nestedField
  }

  class PrivateClass2 extends PrivateClass1 {
    val nField = new Nested().nestedField   // ERROR
  }

  class PrivateClass3 {
    val privateClass1 = new PrivateClass1
    val privateNField = privateClass1.nested.nestedField // ERROR
  }
}

Compiling this file yields the following output.

10: error: value nestedField cannot be accessed in PrivateClass2.this.Nested
        def nField = new Nested().nestedField
                                  ^
14: error: value nested cannot be accessed in scopeA.PrivateClass1
        val privateNField = privateClass1.nested.nestedField
                                          ^
two errors found

Now nestedField is visible to PrivateClass1, but it is still invisible outside of PrivateClass1. This is how private works in Java.

Let’s examine scoping using a package name.

// code-examples/BasicOOP/scoping/private-pkg-type-wont-compile.scala
// WON'T COMPILE

package scopeA {
  private[scopeA] class PrivateClass1

  package scopeA2 {
    private [scopeA2] class PrivateClass2
    private [scopeA]  class PrivateClass3
  }

  class PrivateClass4 extends PrivateClass1
  protected class PrivateClass5 extends PrivateClass1
  private class PrivateClass6 extends PrivateClass1
  private[this] class PrivateClass7 extends PrivateClass1

  private[this] class PrivateClass8 extends scopeA2.PrivateClass2 // ERROR
  private[this] class PrivateClass9 extends scopeA2.PrivateClass3
}

package scopeB {
  class PrivateClass1B extends scopeA.PrivateClass1 // ERROR
}

Compiling this file yields the following output.

14: error: class PrivateClass2 cannot be accessed in package scopeA.scopeA2
    private[this] class PrivateClass8 extends scopeA2.PrivateClass2
                                                      ^
19: error: class PrivateClass1 cannot be accessed in package scopeA
    class PrivateClass1B extends scopeA.PrivateClass1
                                        ^
two errors found

Note that PrivateClass2 can’t be subclassed outside of scopeA2, but PrivateClass3 can be subclassed in scopeA, because it is declared private[scopeA].

Finally, let’s look at the effect of package-level scoping of type members.

// code-examples/BasicOOP/scoping/private-pkg-wont-compile.scala
// WON'T COMPILE

package scopeA {
  class PrivateClass1 {
    private[scopeA] val privateField = 1

    class Nested {
      private[scopeA] val nestedField = 1
    }

    private[scopeA] val nested = new Nested
  }

  class PrivateClass2 extends PrivateClass1 {
    val field  = privateField
    val nField = new Nested().nestedField
  }

  class PrivateClass3 {
    val privateClass1 = new PrivateClass1
    val privateField  = privateClass1.privateField
    val privateNField = privateClass1.nested.nestedField
  }

  package scopeA2 {
    class PrivateClass4 {
      private[scopeA2] val field1 = 1
      private[scopeA]  val field2 = 2
    }
  }

  class PrivateClass5 {
    val privateClass4 = new scopeA2.PrivateClass4
    val field1 = privateClass4.field1  // ERROR
    val field2 = privateClass4.field2
  }
}

package scopeB {
  class PrivateClass1B extends scopeA.PrivateClass1 {
    val field1 = privateField   // ERROR
    val privateClass1 = new scopeA.PrivateClass1
    val field2 = privateClass1.privateField  // ERROR
  }
}

Compiling this file yields the following output.

28: error: value field1 cannot be accessed in scopeA.scopeA2.PrivateClass4
        val field1 = privateClass4.field1
                                   ^
35: error: not found: value privateField
        val field1 = privateField
                     ^
37: error: value privateField cannot be accessed in scopeA.PrivateClass1
        val field2 = privateClass1.privateField
                                   ^
three errors found

The only errors are when we attempt to access members scoped to scopeA from the unrelated package scopeB and when we attempt to access a member from a nested package scopeA2 that is scoped to that package.

Scala visibility declarations are very flexible and they behave consistently. They provide fine-grained control over visibility at all possible scopes, from the instance level (private[this]) up to package-level visibility (private[P], for a package P). For example, they make it easier to create “components” with types exposed outside of the component’s top-level package, while hiding implementation types and type members within the “component’s” packages.

Finally, we have observed a potential “gotcha” with hidden members of traits.

Fortunately, the compiler catches this problem.