Why private state variable

novaknole · December 12, 2022, 7:30pm

I'd love to get OZ's mind about something..

OpenZeppelin/openzeppelin-contracts/blob/3d7a93876a2e5e1d7fe29b5a0e96e222afdc4cfa/contracts/governance/extensions/GovernorSettings.sol#L15


      
          
          
import "../Governor.sol";
          
          
/**
           * @dev Extension of {Governor} for settings updatable through governance.
           *
           * _Available since v4.4._
           */
          abstract contract GovernorSettings is Governor {
              uint256 private _votingDelay;
              uint256 private _votingPeriod;
              uint256 private _proposalThreshold;
          
          
    event VotingDelaySet(uint256 oldVotingDelay, uint256 newVotingDelay);
              event VotingPeriodSet(uint256 oldVotingPeriod, uint256 newVotingPeriod);
              event ProposalThresholdSet(uint256 oldProposalThreshold, uint256 newProposalThreshold);
          
          
    /**
               * @dev Initialize the governance parameters.
               */
              constructor(

As seen on the line, _votingPeriod is private. This is due to the encapsulation pattern so child contracts wouldn't have direct access to it to not allow improper/dangerous overwrite on it.

Though, votingDelay function is virtual, so In case change is needed, I can still override and achieve the same thing. What's your argument about having it like this and not making _votingPeriod variable internal ?

frangio · December 12, 2022, 10:45pm

It's a general policy we use consistently throughout the library. All variables are private, and no exceptions are made for particular variables.

Boluwatife_Adegbola · December 13, 2022, 6:13am

OZ convention to probably prevent conflicts.

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Why private state variable

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