3.7.1 Module Sub-Types

A module sub-type is a type declared in a module with a different name than that module. This allows a single .hx file to contain multiple types, which can be accessed unqualified from within the module, and by using package.Module.Type from other modules:

var e:haxe.macro.Expr.ExprDef;

Here the sub-type ExprDef within module haxe.macro.Expr is accessed.

An example sub-type declaration would look like the following :

// a/A.hx
package a;

class A { public function new() {} }
// sub-type
class B { public function new() {} }

// Main.hx
import a.A;

class Main {
    static function main() {
        var subtype1 = new a.A.B();

        // these are also valid, but require import a.A or import a.A.B :
        var subtype2 = new B();
        var subtype3 = new a.B();
    }
}

The sub-type relation is not reflected at run-time; public sub-types become a member of their containing package, which could lead to conflicts if two modules within the same package tried to define the same sub-type. Naturally, the Haxe compiler detects these cases and reports them accordingly. In the example above ExprDef is generated as haxe.macro.ExprDef.

Sub-types can also be made private:

private class C { ... }
private enum E { ... }
private typedef T { ... }
private abstract A { ... }

Define: Private type

A type can be made private by using the private modifier. Afterwards, the type can only be directly accessed from within the module it is defined in.

Private types, unlike public ones, do not become a member of their containing package.

The accessibility of types can be controlled more precisely by using access control.

---