Scala private access modifier scope

Question

I have code with companion object and defined constructor as private:

class Person private[Person] (var age: Int, var name: String) {
  private[Person] def this(name: String) = this(0, name)
}

private class Employee(age: Int, name: String) extends Person(age, name)

private class Worker(age: Int, name: String) extends Person(age, name)

object Person {
  def prettyPrint(p: Person) = println("name:%s age:%s".format(p.name, p.age))
  def apply(age: Int, name: String) = new Person(age, name)
  def apply() = new Person(0, "undefined")
  def apply(age: Int, name: String, personType: String): Person = {
    if (personType == "worker") new Worker(age, name)
    else if (personType == "employee") new Employee(age, name)
    else new Person(age, name)
   }

}

My question is why another object in same package also have access to this private constructor. I added private[this] so others didn't have access to it but nor companion had. Can I have private properties for class and companion object only ?

Answer 1

This code does not compile. Both Employee and Worker try to access the private constructor, and are rightfully denied access.

Your question speaks of a private variable, but there's no variable declared private.

So either your example is incomplete, or it is incorrect. Please correct the example so we can answer the question.