Leading underscore convention
The leading underscore convention prefixes an identifier with an underscore to signal intended internal or non-public use without enforcing access restrictions.
Web Components in Action
- How it is used
- Signals which Web Component properties and methods consumers should treat as internal rather than part of the public API.
- How deep it goes
- Distinguishes convention-based signaling from actual privacy and demonstrates internal state behind setters.
- Examples
- Uses _addItemToUI, _searchTerm, _apiKey, public setters, and redraw behavior as concrete examples.
- What you can do after
- Apply it by naming internal component state and methods with underscores while exposing deliberate public properties.
Read how Web Components in Action explains leading underscore convention →
Python How-To
- How it is used
- Signals that class methods or attributes are intended for internal use and reduces irrelevant IDE autocomplete suggestions.
- How deep it goes
- Defines the naming convention and its autocomplete effects, while stopping short of enforcing access restrictions.
- Examples
- Uses _format_note, protected class members, and a challenge to rename applicable methods as nonpublic.
- What you can do after
- Apply it via Python naming conventions to communicate which methods and attributes users should avoid calling directly.
Read how Python How-To explains leading underscore convention →
Related concepts
- private memberconfigures · A private member is a program element whose direct access is restricted to its defining class, module, file, or other language-defined scope.
- protected memberconfigures · A protected member is a class attribute or method accessible within its defining class and, subject to language rules, within subclasses or other related contexts.
- tuple unpackinguses · Tuple unpacking is assigning the elements of an iterable to multiple corresponding targets in a single operation.
- authorizationimplemented by · Authorization is the determination and enforcement of rules governing which subjects may access resources or perform operations.
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