Defining private module functions in python
function, module, private, python
Solution
In Python, "privacy" depends on "consenting adults'" levels of agreement - you can't force it. A single leading underscore means you're not supposed to access it "from the outside" -- two leading underscores (w/o trailing underscores) carry the message even more forcefully... but, in the end, it still depends on social convention and consensus: Python's introspection is forceful enough that you can't handcuff every other programmer in the world to respect your wishes.
((Btw, though it's a closely held secret, much the same holds for C++: with most compilers, a simple `#define private public` line before `#include`ing your `.h` file is all it takes for wily coders to make hash of your "privacy"...!-))
Problem
According to http://www.faqs.org/docs/diveintopython/fileinfo_private.html: Like most languages, Python has the concept of private elements: - Private functions, which can't be called from outside their module However, if I define two files: ``` #a.py __num=1 ``` and: ``` #b.py import a print a.__num ``` when i run `b.py` it prints out `1` without giving any exception. Is diveintopython wrong, or did I misunderstand something? And is there some way to do define a module's function as private?