Should I use public properties and private fields or public fields for data?

Asked 2009-08-14T12:26:30.787

In much of the code I have seen (on SO, thecodeproject.com and I tend to do this in my own code), I have seen public properties being created for every single private field that a class contains, even if they are the most basic type of get; set; like:

private int myInt;
public int MyInt 
{
     get { return myInt; }
     set { myInt = value }
}

My question is: how does this differ from:

public int MyInt;

and if we should use properties instead of public fields why should we use them in this specific case? (I am not talking about more complex examples where the getters and setters actually do something special or there is only one get or set (read/write only) rather than just returning/setting a value of a private field). It does not seem to add any extra encapsulation, only give a nice icon in IntelliSense and be placed in a special section in class diagrams!

c# .net coding-style properties

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2 Answers

The point is - what if further down the line you want to make sure that every time myInt is referenced something special happens (a log file is written to, it's changed to 42 etc)? You can't do that without getters and setters. Sometimes it's wise to program for what you might need, not what you need right now.

answered 2009-08-14T12:29:52.240

Actually, if you're using Silverlight, you'll realise that fields cannot be set a static resources and thus you'll have to use a property (even to access a const).

I've realised that when I tried to federate the region names I use in Composite Guidance (PRISM).

However, that's just a language limitations and apart from static/const fields I alsways use properties.

answered 2009-08-14T12:31:59.213

Should I use public properties and private fields or public fields for data?

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