Question

In a class, which of the following should be private? Select one:

a. Constructors
b. toString method
c. accessors methods
d. mutators methods
e. If you think none of the above should be private, select this option

Answer 1

Typically, mutators methods, also known as setters, could be made private in a class to prevent outside interference with the object state, particularly if it could lead to an invalid state or the class is meant to be immutable. However, this depends on the specific context and class design.

Step-by-step explanation:

In a class, access modifiers are used to encapsulate the data and ensure that internal class details are hidden from the outside. Out of the options provided, mutators methods, also known as setters, are commonly made private if direct modification of the field could lead to an inconsistent or invalid state of the object, or when the class is designed to be immutable.

However, by convention, constructors are usually public or protected to allow instantiation of objects, accessors methods (getters) are typically public to allow reading of properties, and the toString method is also generally public to provide a textual representation of the object for debugging or logging purposes.

So, if any of the members were to be made private based on typical design principles, it would most likely be mutators methods, given that they directly modify object state. However, this is context-dependent, and in some cases, these methods may be exposed publicly if there's a need for external entities to modify the object's state in a controlled manner.