Question

If I have a simple class setup like this:

class MyClass
{
    private string _myName = string.Empty;

    public string MyName
    {
        get
        {
            return _myName;
        }
    }

    public void DoSomething()
    {
        // Get the name...
        string name = string.Empty;

        name = _myName;

        // OR

        name = MyName;

        // ...and do something with it...
    }
}

Which should I use, the public property, or the data member?

Obviously, in this example it doesn’t make a difference, since they both just reference the same variable. But what about real world uses of Public Properties?

In general, do Public Properties perform very little, in which case it is OK to call them? Or do people put a lot of functionality into their Public Properties that should not be called by internal class references?

I saw something in another post about NOT putting lots of functionality into Properties, since examining them in the Debugger can perform unexpected results. Is that true?

Answer 1

Use the property – any logic that may be encapsulated within the setters and getters ought to apply, even within the class itself. If there is no logic within the getters and setters it is still not safe to use the fields themselves because if at any point you wish to add logic around the access to those fields you will have to refactor much more.