From a537721ea120296e0990f515e75765936cbe0fd1 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Mike Gerwitz <mikegerwitz@gnu.org>
Date: Sun, 20 Apr 2014 02:53:02 -0400
Subject: [PATCH] Added documentation for implicit private members

---
 doc/mkeywords.texi | 24 ++++++++++++++++++------
 1 file changed, 18 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)

diff --git a/doc/mkeywords.texi b/doc/mkeywords.texi
index 7affa50..6833040 100644
--- a/doc/mkeywords.texi
+++ b/doc/mkeywords.texi
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 @c  This document is part of the GNU ease.js manual.
-@c  Copyright (C) 2011, 2013, 2014 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+@c  Copyright (C) 2011, 2013, 2014 Mike Gerwitz
 @c    Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
 @c    under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
 @c    any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
@@ -23,13 +23,15 @@ The table below summarizes the available keywords accepted by
 @headitem Keyword @tab Description
 @item @code{public}
 @tab Places member @var{name} into the public API for @var{C} (@pxref{Access
-Modifiers}).
+Modifiers}); this is the default visibility.
 @item @code{protected}
 @tab Places member @var{name} into the protected API for @var{C}
 (@pxref{Access Modifiers}).
 @item @code{private}
 @tab Places member @var{name} into the private API for @var{C}
-(@pxref{Access Modifiers}).
+(@pxref{Access Modifiers}); this is done implicitly if the member name is
+prefixed with an underscore, unless another access modifier is explicitly
+provided.
 @item @code{static}
 @tab Binds member @var{name} to class @var{C} rather than instance of
 @var{C}.  Member data shared with each instance of type @var{C}.
@@ -97,7 +99,7 @@ Not accessible outside of @var{C} or any instance of @var{C}. @emph{Not}
 @tab
 Places member @var{name} in public interface (accessible outside of @var{C}
 or instance of @var{C}; accessible by subtypes).  Implied if no other access
-modifier is provided.
+modifier is provided (but see @code{private});
 @item @code{protected}
 @tab
 Places member @var{name} in protected interface (accessible only within
@@ -105,7 +107,9 @@ Places member @var{name} in protected interface (accessible only within
 @item @code{private}
 @tab
 Places member @var{name} in private interface (accessible only within
-@var{C} or instance of @var{C}; not accessible by subtypes).
+@var{C} or instance of @var{C}; not accessible by subtypes); implicit if the
+member name is prefixed with an underscore, unless another access modifier
+is explicitly provided.
 @end multitable
 @caption{Access modifiers}
 @end float
@@ -118,7 +122,9 @@ Only one access modifier may appear in @var{keywords} for any given
 @var{name}.
 @item
 If no access modifier is provided in @var{keywords} for any member
-@var{name}, member @var{name} is implicitly @code{public}.
+@var{name}, member @var{name} is implicitly @code{public}, unless the member
+name is prefixed with an underscore, in which case it is implicitly
+@code{private}.
 @end itemize
 
 @menu
@@ -146,6 +152,12 @@ class. Public properties, however, should be less common in practice for a
 very important reason, which is explored throughout the remainder of this
 section.
 
+Following common conventions in modern object-oriented languages, members
+with an underscore prefix (e.g. @code{_foo}) are implicitly private; this
+behavior can be overridden by explicitly specifying an access modifier. This
+convention allows for more concise member definitions and is more natural to
+those who use JavaScript's native prototype model.
+
 @anchor{Encapsulation}
 @subsubsection Encapsulation
 @dfn{Encapsulation} is the act of hiding information within a class or