>Paul/Jim
>
>Yes - to me - PRIVATE vars are the real no-no - the ones to be avoided like the plague. Not that I disagree with the notion that publics are bad also - but at least there's a clear understanding of what the difference between public and local is. PRIVATE inhabits some dark nether-region in between :-)
>
>For my purposes - as Jim B. pointed out - I would get identical functionality within my app by either using a public and making sure to clear it - or using a provate. I just don't like privates - like them less than publics. In any case - we're all better off to limit it to one little var and have everything else local and well encapsulated.
>
>Ken

The last point is very good. No PRIVATE, no PUBLIC, only LOCAL (explicitly declared) allowed.
Obviously, this whole thing is not mandatory, it's just logical to use it in OO environment.