SE-0025: Scoped Access Level, next steps

Evolution Discussion
1

public

private@module

private@file

private

or

public

private-module

private-file

private

or

public

private/module

private/file

private

or some other separating character.

This would allow private@module(set) or private-module(set) or private/module(set)

Actually I tend to the last one using the slash.

-Thorsten

···

Am 15. März 2016 um 04:36 schrieb Patrick Pijnappel via swift-evolution swift-evolution@swift.org:

Another +1 for James' idea to use private(module), private(file), private:

  • It avoids ambiguity whether internal/private/local is more restrictive and replaces it with a single axis, public vs. private.
  • The two longer terms, private(module) and private(file), are the least used ones.
  • As mentioned by Joe, it admits clean extension to groupings between file and modules in the future (e.g. submodules).

The only question is (as Sean mentioned) how this combines with the syntax for setter access level, e.g. the current private(set). Options:

  • Unnamed 2nd argument, giving private(file), private(file, set), private(set).
  • Named 2nd argument, giving e.g. private(file), private(file, accessor: set), private(accessor: set). Less ambiguity but longer.
  • Not using multiple arguments, but that'd probably break consistency with the other unification efforts going on to make everything look like function calls.

On Tue, Mar 15, 2016 at 1:42 PM, Sean Heber via swift-evolution swift-evolution@swift.org wrote:

Although really, why not just use “file” instead of “internal” since it won’t burn any keywords or cause any other conflicts as far as I know.

l8r
Sean

On Mar 14, 2016, at 9:38 PM, Sean Heber sean@fifthace.com wrote:

I, too, prefer it to be more like this:

public // unchanged
module // currently internal
internal // currently private
private // new hotness

l8r
Sean

On Mar 14, 2016, at 7:50 PM, Jo Albright via swift-evolution swift-evolution@swift.org wrote:

+1

I like this a lot. Name ideas : enclosed, filelocal, fileonly, filelock, fileaccess, fileprivate, insidefile, inner. I also like Erica’s filebound & file fixed.

By Erica’s suggestion about switching…

  • public
  • modular, modulelock, packaged (module only)
  • internal (file only)
  • private

Designer . Developer .  Nerd
Jo Albright

On Mar 14, 2016, at 8:18 PM, Chris Lattner via swift-evolution swift-evolution@swift.org wrote:

Per Doug’s email, the core team agrees we should make a change here, but would like some bikeshedding to happen on the replacement name for private.

To summarize the place we’d like to end up:

  • “public” -> symbol visible outside the current module.
  • “internal” -> symbol visible within the current module.
  • unknown -> symbol visible within the current file.
  • “private” -> symbol visible within the current declaration (class, extension, etc).

The rationale here is that this aligns Swift with common art seen in other languages, and that many people using private today don’t want visibility out of their current declaration. It also encourages “extension oriented programming”, at least it will when some of the other restrictions on extensions are lifted. We discussed dropping the third one entirely, but think it is a useful and important level of access control, and when/if we ever get the ability to write unit tests inside of the file that defines the functionality, they will be a nicer solution to @testable.

The thing we need to know is what the spelling should be for the third one. Off hand, perhaps:

fileprivate
private(file)
internal(file)
fileaccessible
etc

Some other thoughts on the choice:

  • this will be a declaration modifier, so it will not “burn” a keyword.
  • if will be a uniquely Swift thing, so there is virtue in it being a googlable keyword.

Thoughts appreciated.

-Chris

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