Usage of final in java

Question

I was wondering what the difference is between

public final type attribute_name;

and

private type attribute_name;
public type getA_name() {
  return attribute_name;
}

Basically I want to make an attribute read-only, so it can't change after it has been initialized.
Do I make it public final, or do I make it private, and only make it accesible through a get method (without a set method)?

Answer 1

When it's not final but private, the class itself is able to change the value.