When you define your class, contained methods, properties, or fields can have various visibility levels. In Kotlin, there are four possible values:
- Public: This can be accessed from anywhere
- Internal: This can only be accessed from the module code
- Protected: This can only be accessed from the class defining it and any derived classes
- Private: This can only be accessed from the scope of the class defining it
If the parent class specifies that a given field is open for being redefined (overwritten), the derived class will be able to modify the visibility level. Here is an example:
open class Container {
protected open val fieldA: String = "Some value"
}
class DerivedContainer : Container() {
public override val fieldA: String = "Something else"
}
Now in the main class, you can create a new DerivedContainer...
