What is the purpose of the [SerializeField] attribute in Unity?

The [SerializeField] attribute in Unity serves the specific purpose of allowing private variables to be visible and editable in the Inspector. This is important because in Unity, the Inspector interface provides a visual way to adjust variables and settings for game objects without needing to modify the code directly. By default, only public variables appear in the Inspector; however, using [SerializeField] on a private variable enables developers to maintain encapsulation while still benefitting from Unity's powerful UI for variable management. This approach promotes better coding practices by keeping variables private while ensuring they are easily configurable during development.