Question

class LinkedList{
private $first;

public function Merge(LinkedList $ll){
//We can't access $ll->first for merging operation as it's private inside $ll.
//We can only access $this->first not $first of $ll
}
}

What could be the solution for this?

• Make $first public? that is not a nice idea
• Implement getter method for $first property

Can someone please suggest me correct way to access $first?

Answer 1

Access is controlled though the class, not the instance. You can access any private member of a class from code that’s within the class. Whether you use the $this reference or another doesn’t matter.

class LinkedList{
    private $first="3.11";

    public function Merge(LinkedList $ll){
        echo $this->first, ' ', $ll->first;
    }   
}                                                                                

This is the same in PHP, Java, and C++.