Protected access modifier in Java - Step-by-Step Execution

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Concept Flow - Protected access modifier

Class A defines protected member

↓

Class B extends Class A?

No→Cannot access protected member

Yes↓

Class B accesses protected member

↓

Access allowed within same package or subclass

Protected members are accessible within the same package and by subclasses even if they are in different packages.

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Execution Sample

Java

class A {
  protected int num = 10;
}

class B extends A {
  int getNum() { return num; }
}

Class B inherits from A and accesses the protected member num.

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Execution Table

Step	Action	Class Context	Member Access	Result
1	Create instance of A	A	num	num = 10
2	Create instance of B	B extends A	inherits num	num = 10
3	Call getNum() on B instance	B	access protected num	returns 10
4	Try access num from unrelated class	Unrelated	access protected num	Access denied

💡 Access denied outside subclass or package; protected allows subclass and package access only

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Variable Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 1	After Step 2	After Step 3	Final
num	undefined	10 (in A instance)	10 (in B instance)	10 (returned by getNum)	10

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Key Moments - 2 Insights

▶Why can class B access num but an unrelated class cannot?

▶Does protected mean public access?

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Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution_table, what value does getNum() return at step 3?

A Access denied error

B 0

C 10

D Undefined

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Concept Snapshot

protected member:
- accessible in same package
- accessible in subclasses (even in different packages)
- not accessible by unrelated classes
syntax: protected type name;
used for controlled access in inheritance

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Full Transcript

The protected access modifier in Java allows a class member to be accessed within its own package and by subclasses even if they are in different packages. In the example, class A defines a protected integer num. Class B extends A and can access num directly. When B's method getNum() returns num, it returns 10. However, an unrelated class cannot access num because it is protected, not public. This shows protected is more restrictive than public but more open than private. Protected is useful to share members with subclasses and package classes while hiding them from others.