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From: Ian Kelly <ian.g.kelly@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2012 11:08:13 -0600
Subject: Re: Private methods
To: Python <python-list@python.org>
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On Tue, Oct 9, 2012 at 8:08 AM, Demian Brecht <demianbrecht@gmail.com> wrote:
> A single underscore semantically means private. A double underscore will
> name mangle the function such that it's only accessible strictly by name
> through the class that it's define in. Note that you *can* still access it
> if you understand how name mangling works. Nothing in Python is truly
> private.

I tend to view name mangling as being more for avoiding internal
attribute collisions in complex inheritance structures than for
designating names as private.