Question

So, in some C# code, I have something similar to the two properties:

private string _foo;
private string _bar;

public Foo
{
   get;
   set {
      _foo = value;
      Bar = _foo.Substring(3, 5);
   }
}

public Bar
{
   get;
   set {
      _bar = value;
      Foo = "XXX" + _bar;
   }
}

Question: Are C# properties subject to circular references/updates, like this example would seem to cause?

Answer 1

You can avoid the infinite loop by updating the hidden field directly, like this:

private string _foo;
private string _bar;

public string Foo
{
   get { return _foo; }
   set {
      _foo = value;
      _bar = _foo.Substring(3, 5);
   }
}

public string Bar
{
   get { return _bar; }
   set {
      _bar = value;
      _foo = "XXX" + _bar;
   }
}

This will bypass the other property’s setter, which eliminates the loop.

But… this generally causes maintenance headaches later on. Personally, I’d try to find an alternative design.