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Protected
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Protected

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is an attribute that prevents any values associated with a symbol from being modified.

Details

  • Many built‐in Wolfram Language functions have the attribute Protected.
  • SetOptions can be used on symbols with attribute Protected that do not also have the Locked attribute.

Examples

open allclose all

Basic Examples  (2)Summary of the most common use cases

String has the attribute Protected:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-enh4d7
Out[1]=1

Set the attribute Protected on f:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-hu4t7s
In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-dgbc1v
Out[2]=2

Scope  (1)Survey of the scope of standard use cases

Simultaneously protect and read protect the function f:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-3x0bjl

f has both attributes:

In[3]:=3
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-jkq7ru
Out[3]=3

Simultaneously clear both attributes:

In[4]:=4
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-feo83c

Both have been cleared:

In[5]:=5
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-24rqi8
Out[5]=5

Applications  (1)Sample problems that can be solved with this function

Unprotect a system symbol to make a definition for it:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-mits3s
Out[1]=1
In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-epf1vg

Restore protection:

In[3]:=3
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-d6e45
Out[3]=3

Properties & Relations  (5)Properties of the function, and connections to other functions

Protecting a symbol is equivalent to setting the Protected attribute:

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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-kr2p40
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-ieyx3j
Out[3]=3

Unprotecting a symbol is equivalent to clearing the Protected attribute:

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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-b0vhus
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-bkqf88
Out[6]=6

No more definitions can be made for a protected symbol:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-d3sxi1
In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-br7hms
In[3]:=3
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-eogddo
Out[3]=3

Neither can definitions be cleared:

In[4]:=4
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-qujjh

To modify definitions of a protected symbol, unprotect it first:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-fqvj86
In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-nbosdx
Out[2]=2
In[3]:=3
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-j9eg5p
In[4]:=4
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-cbm5gd

SetOptions can be used the change the default options of a protected function:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-n31ugj
Out[1]=1

Change the options of D:

In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-ui11iw
Out[2]=2

Restore the system default:

In[3]:=3
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-ik8912
Out[3]=3

A symbol that is locked and protected can no longer be changed:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-eswnz5
In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-c940n8
Out[2]=2
In[3]:=3
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-dlq28s
In[4]:=4
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0ldelug-c9kxig
Out[4]=4
Wolfram Research (1988), Protected, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Protected.html.
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Wolfram Research (1988), Protected, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Protected.html.

Text

Wolfram Research (1988), Protected, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Protected.html.

✖
Wolfram Research (1988), Protected, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Protected.html.

CMS

Wolfram Language. 1988. "Protected." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Protected.html.

✖
Wolfram Language. 1988. "Protected." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Protected.html.

APA

Wolfram Language. (1988). Protected. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Protected.html

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Wolfram Language. (1988). Protected. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Protected.html

BibTeX

@misc{reference.wolfram_2025_protected, author="Wolfram Research", title="{Protected}", year="1988", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Protected.html}", note=[Accessed: 08-July-2025 ]}

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@misc{reference.wolfram_2025_protected, author="Wolfram Research", title="{Protected}", year="1988", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Protected.html}", note=[Accessed: 08-July-2025 ]}

BibLaTeX

@online{reference.wolfram_2025_protected, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={Protected}, year={1988}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Protected.html}, note=[Accessed: 08-July-2025 ]}

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@online{reference.wolfram_2025_protected, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={Protected}, year={1988}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Protected.html}, note=[Accessed: 08-July-2025 ]}