class ScopeRules: x = 66 __y = 6 def __init__(self): self.number =17 def getY(self): return self.__y if __name__ == "__main__": d = ScopeRules() e = ScopeRules() print d.number print d.x print d.getY() e.x = 88 print d.x print e.x # this doesn't work: print x # this doesn't work: print d.__y print d.getY()