What does the term "protected" mean in programming?

The term "protected" in programming refers to a level of access control for variables and methods within object-oriented programming. Specifically, when a variable or method is declared as "protected," it can be accessed not only by its own class but also by any subclass that derives from it. This means that the protected members are hidden from all other classes that are not part of this inheritance hierarchy, providing a way to encapsulate data while still allowing derived classes to utilize or modify them as needed.

This access level is particularly useful in scenarios where a class wants to extend its functionality while keeping some implementation details hidden from the outside world, thus supporting better modularity and code reusability. In contrast, other access levels such as public would allow unrestricted access from any class, while private would completely restrict access to the defining class only. Additionally, "protected" does not imply that the variable or method cannot be modified, which distinguishes it from other concepts in programming.