Question

Possible Duplicate:
What is the difference between a field and a property in C#?
Difference between Property and Field in C# .NET 3.5+

I have seen that in c# the following pattern is common:

   private string m_name = string.Empty;

public string Name
{
    get
    {
        return m_name;
    }
    set
    {
        m_name = value;
    }
}

why do we use a field and a property to hold a value when we can use a simple variable?
why should I use fields and properties instead of a simple variable?

Answer 1

Just for encapsulation principle. For hinding concrete implementaiton, and plus, you have an opportunity (in this case) to add additional code inside get/set.

If you don’t need addittional code, you can use just

public string Name{get;set;}

or use fileds, as you would like. But using properties is a guideline offered by Microsoft.

So basically all, follow it.