Explain what the method with the private access modifier means in object-oriented programming

In object-oriented programming, a method with the access modifier private is only accessible within the class in which it is declared. This means such a method cannot be called from other classes or outside the object. Python does not have a direct private modifier, but by convention, methods starting with a double underscore __ are considered private and undergo name mangling, making them harder to call from outside.

Example:

class MyClass:
    def __private_method(self):
        print("This is a private method")

    def public_method(self):
        self.__private_method()  # allowed to call inside the class

obj = MyClass()
obj.public_method()  # works
# obj.__private_method()  # will raise AttributeError

Thus, private methods are used to encapsulate logic that should not and cannot be used outside the class.