# Field hiding

There is a class hierarchy and on each level there is a field with same name `publicName`.

```java
public class TestCode {
	
	public static void main(String[] args) {
		GrandPa grandPa = new GrandPa();
		System.out.println("Real gradPa name is :" + grandPa.getPublicName());
		
		GrandPa grandPaFatherActually = new Father();
		System.out.println("gradPa type, but father instance:  " + grandPaFatherActually.getPublicName());
		
		GrandPa grandPaSonActually = new Son();
		System.out.println("gradPa type, but son instance:  " + grandPaSonActually.getPublicName());
	}
	
}

class GrandPa {
	private String publicName = "GrandPaName";
	
	public String getPublicName() {
		return publicName;
	}
}

class Father extends GrandPa {
	private String publicName = "FatherName";
	
	public String getPublicName() {
		return publicName;
	}
}

class Son extends Father{
	private String publicName = "SonName";
	
	public String getPublicName() {
		return publicName;
	}
}
```

```
Real gradPa name is :GrandPaName
gradPa type, but father instance:  FatherName
gradPa type, but son instance:  SonName
```

Fields in subclasses can hide fields with the same name in their superclasses. This means that when you access a field using an instance of a subclass, the field in the subclass takes precedence, hiding the fields with the same name in its superclasses.

In the case of your `grandPaSonActually` instance, which is an instance of the `Son` class, the field `publicName` from the `Son` class takes precedence. So technically, when you access `grandPaSonActually.publicName`, you are accessing the `publicName` field from the `Son` class, and its value is "SonName." This is known as field hiding.

**While debuggers may show you the fields from the entire class hierarchy for inspection purposes, the actual field that is accessible and used when you access `publicName` on `grandPaSonActually` is the one defined in the `Son` class. The fields from the superclasses (`Father` and `GrandPa`) are effectively hidden in this context.**

<figure><img src="https://415484505-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-LxtoAXZwwOc4XGto8vb%2Fuploads%2FN7CDlWVYdRzlmn9uY9m8%2FScreenshot%202023-09-14%20at%2010.28.50.png?alt=media&#x26;token=1473ae24-e706-4b53-b661-15f135f669b5" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

So, to summarise, only the `publicName` field from the `Son` class ("SonName") is technically available and accessible in the `grandPaSonActually` instance. The fields with the same name in the superclasses are hidden and not accessible through this instance.