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Please explain what is name mangling, how it works, what problem it solves, and in which contexts and languages is used. Name mangling strategies (e.g. what name is chosen by the compiler and why) a plus.
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The need for name mangling arises where the language allows different entities to be named with the same identifier as long as they occupy a different namespace (typically defined by a module, class, or explicit namespace directive) or have different signatures (such as in function overloading).
The name mangling process helps to access the class variables from outside the class. The class variables can be accessed by adding _classname to it. The name mangling is closest to private not exactly private.
Name mangling is a term that denotes the process of mapping a name that is valid in a particular programming language to a name that is valid in the CORBA Interface Definition Language (IDL).
Given a function name of a set of parameters, it will always generate a unique name. If parameters (number of params, type of params or order of params) change then it will generate another name even if the original C++ function name is the same. This process of encoding the function name is known as name mangling.
In the programming language of your choice, if an identifier is exported from a separately compiled unit, it needs a name by which it is known at link time. Name mangling solves the problem of overloaded identifiers in programming languages. (An identifier is "overloaded" if the same name is used in more than one context or with more than one meaning.)
Some examples:
In C++, function or method get may be overloaded at multiple types.
In Ada or Modula-3, function get may appear in multiple modules.
Multiple types and multiple modules cover the usual contexts.
Typical strategies:
Map each type to a string and use the combined high-level identifier and "type string" as the link-time name. Common in C++ (especially easy since overloading is permitted only for functions/methods and only on argument types) and Ada (where you can overload result types as well).
If an identifier is used in more than one module or namespace, join the name of the module with the name of the identifier, e.g., List_get instead of List.get.
Depending on what characters are legal in link-time names, you may have to do additional mangling; for example, it may be necessary to use the underscore as an 'escape' character, so you can distinguish
List_my.get -> List__my_get from
List.my_get -> List_my__get (Admittedly this example is reaching, but as a compiler writer, I have to guarantee that distinct identifiers in the source code map to distinct link-time names. That's the whole reason and purpose for name mangling.)
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