Agreed. Private methods/variables should have no reason to be called outside a class. If necessary, simply make a public accessor that calls that private method/variable.

What if you don't have access to the original source code? Usually you do in Perl, but it's not always convenient to modify it. You're then at the mercy of someone else's design decisions.

You could have a perfectly legitimate reason for calling a method that someone else thought you wouldn't or shouldn't. The problem with a strict OO design is that it assumes the original design is perfect.

I'm not saying we should always call private methods (otherwise there'd be no need to indicate them with a leading underscore), but it's nice to have the option.

In reply to Re^4: I hate the leading underscores. by Mutant
in thread I hate the leading underscores. by Anonymous Monk

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