Editing Scope (computer science) (section)

=== Module scope ===
The scope of a name binding is a module, which is known as '''module scope'''. Module scope is available in [[Modular programming|modular programming languages]] where modules (which may span various files) are the basic unit of a complex program, as they allow [[information hiding]] and exposing a limited interface. Module scope was pioneered in the [[Modula]] family of languages, and Python (which was influenced by Modula) is a representative contemporary example.

In some [[object-oriented programming]] languages that lack direct support for modules, such as C++ before C++20,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://isocpp.org/files/papers/n4720.pdf|title=N4720: Working Draft, Extensions to C++ for Modules|publisher=|access-date=2019-04-30|archive-date=2019-04-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430095053/https://isocpp.org/files/papers/n4720.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> a similar structure is instead provided by the class hierarchy, where classes are the basic unit of the program, and a class can have private methods. This is properly understood in the context of [[dynamic dispatch]] rather than name resolution and scope, though they often play analogous roles. In some cases both these facilities are available, such as in Python, which has both modules and classes, and code organization (as a module-level function or a conventionally private method) is a choice of the programmer.