Hidden Variables

Data can be hidden by creating Private variables. Private variables can be accessed only by the class itself. If you declare names of the form __xxx or __xxx_yyy, that is with two preceding underscores, the Python parser will automatically add the class name to the declared name, creating hidden variables, for example:

class MyClass:
    __attr = 10   #private class attribute

    def method1(self):
        pass

    def method2(self, p1, p2):
        pass

    def __privateMethod(self, text):
        self.__text = text    #private attribute

Unlike in Java, in Python all references to instance variables must be qualified with self; there is no implied use of this.