| private | variable is visible only within the immediate class in which it is declared. |
| public | variable is visible from anywhere from which the class within which it is declared is visible. |
| protected | variable is are visible to classes which extend the class in which it is declared. |
| static | variable retains its value after the method in which it is declared terminates. |
| synchronized | variable is locked from access by other program threads while a particular thread is updating it. |
| final | variable can only be assigned a value once, that is, when it is initialised just before the first pass of the method code. |
The order in which the modifiers are placed in the declaration of a variable are, by convention:
The form of a complete variable-declaration is therefore as follows:
The following statement declares three interger variables x, y, z:
private static final int x, y, z;
function( ) {
}
A namespace is the space between the braces {} of a source block. This is deemed to include the space between the brackets ( ) of the function to which the source block pertains where present. Here, the term function is used as a generic term for method, constructor, exception handler etc..