Access Modifiers - What Are They

In Java, Access modifiers determine the visibility of classes, methods, variables and constructors. There are four access modifiers in Java: public, private, protected, and default (no modifier). They help control access levels, inheritance, and other characteristics. These keywords are essential for encapsulation (grouping related things), setting architectural guidelines for consistency, security, and preventing future headaches.

Access modifiers are placed before the class, method, or field declaration: