Python functions: can they be made private?

Question

I need a function which I will use only inside my class. Is it ok to define it like other methods or it's better to hide it somewhere?

class Test:

    def __init__(self,a,b):
        self.a=a
        self.b=b

    def sayhi(self):
        print('hi')

    def printa(self,c):
        self.sayhi()
        print('A+C=',self.a+c)

    def printb(self,c):
        self.sayhi()
        print('B+C=',self.b+c) 

Answer 1

Unlike java and some other object oriented languages Python does not have private methods. You can just add an underscore before the method name to indicate that it is a private method. NB: this has meaning only to you and is ignored by the interpreter. The method can still be called outside the class

Answer 2

Make it a "private" function

Use the python convention for making a function "private" by contract.

See https://dbader.org/blog/meaning-of-underscores-in-python

class Test:
    def __init__(self,a,b):
        self.a=a
        self.b=b

    def _sayhi(self):
        print('hi')

    def printa(self,c):
        self._sayhi()
        print('A+C=',self.a+c)

    def printb(self,c):
        self._sayhi()
        print('B+C=',self.b+c)