According to https://www.freepascal.org/docs-html/ref/refse34.html

Protected Is the same as Private, except that the members of a Protected section are also accessible to descendent types, even if they are implemented in other modules.

"to descendant types" => suggests, from within a descendant type (even if the descendant type is in a different unit).

But the example (working with 3.3.1) from
https://gitlab.com/freepascal.org/lazarus/lazarus/-/issues/41987 shows that the protected method is accessible
*_through_* the descendant type.

I.e. from any code in the unit of the descendant type, even code outside the descendant type, if it goes "through" the descendant type.

What is your question ?

The behaviour is normal and logical:

The descendant type is subject to the scoping rules. It inherits the protected methods from its parent (with the same visibility) and a protected method is visible in the same unit/program.

The code that uses the descendent class does not know and has no way of knowing where the protected method originates from. It knows the descendent class and can use all protected methods of the descendent class, even if they come from a parent class.

That is why the 'strict' protected was introduced. If you change the visibility to strict private in the example, the program will no longer compile.

Michael.

Should the doc be clearer on this?

- "to" in "to descendant types" from an English point of view says "the descendant themself" or "the code inside the descendant"
- "through" would be more meaningful here.
- "on" or "via" would also work

Yes, because that is what is meant.

What you observe is a corollary of the scoping rules as I explained above. I'll add a remark.

Michael.

And maybe take into account "module" vs "modules". I.e. while for "private" it always is just one single module, for "protected" the class (including its  bases) may be declared across several modules.

So that adds in the current text, to the misleading/omitting character of the doc.