A keyword for marking default protection

Question

Today java is missing a keywork for marking default (package) protection. This is marked just by not using private, protected or public.
To me code with a explicit defined protection is easier to read than code where protection is defined by not using any keyword.
I think java should have a keyword for explicitly declaring the protection level.
I have searched bugs.sun.com for an issue about this, but didn't find any.
Does anybody here has any thoughts about this topic?
-Kaj :)
Edited by: kajh on Apr 19, 2008 12:50 PM

Answer 1

DrClap wrote:
An optional package-private keyword would be just another source of confusionThen don't tell anyone about it :). Those who wanted it will find out, one way or another.
I agree that I wish package-private had its own keyword, as I think it would make code more readable (a compiler preprocessor instruction forcing yourself to specify access level might be nice too). Personally, because there was no keyword for package-private, I spent the majority of my Java life thinking that the default (no keyword) was the same as "protected", because I assumed it had to be one of the three (public, protected or private). So from my experience anyway, not having a keyword is introducing a lot more confusion than adding one late in the game.
The biggest problem I'd see with the addition would be that they haven't reserved a suitable keyword, and introducing a new keyword will either 1. run the risk of breaking existing code (identifiers using keywords added late) or 2. increase parser complexity.
Could always use the default keyword in a separate context though:
public class Clazz  {
   default int myData;
}Or change the grammar rules for declarations:
public class Clazz {
   package private int myData;
}