C++ In a Nutshell

Name

protected access specifier — Restricts member access to the class and derived classes

Synopsis

               access-specifier := protected

The protected keyword can be used within a class definition (followed by a colon) to mark subsequent member declarations as protected or before a base-class name in the class header to mark the inheritance as protected.

Protected members can be used by the class itself, derived classes, or by friends. When accessing a protected member, the access must be through this or an instance of the same class or a derived class. It cannot be through a base class.

Protected inheritance means all public members of the base class become protected in the derived class.

See private for an example.

See Also

class, private, public, struct, Chapter 6