privateinternal

Privateinternal is a term used to describe a combined access modifier in some programming languages, notably seen in C# as private internal. It represents a hybrid visibility level that blends elements of private and internal access. In languages that support such combinations, privateinternal is intended to restrict access more than internal alone while not granting the full restriction of private. The exact rules can vary by language version and compiler, so the precise scope is defined by the language specification or implementation.

In practical terms, a member declared as privateinternal is generally intended to be accessible only within a narrow boundary that includes the declaring type (and its nested types) and code within the same module or assembly. This makes it more restrictive than public or internal, but not as open as public or protected, depending on the language’s rules. Because the interpretation of privateinternal depends on language and version, developers should consult the specific documentation for their environment to understand which locations are permitted to access such members.

Syntax and usage notes: In C#, the combination is often written as private internal (both modifiers applied to the member). The placement of the modifiers is typically flexible and does not affect meaning. Privateinternal is most commonly used for implementation details that should remain hidden from the public API but still be accessible to other code within the same assembly or module, such as helper methods or internal state shared by a set of related types.

See also: access modifiers, private, internal, protected internal, private protected, C# language specification.