C# Getters and Setters

When programming in C#, it is common practice to use getters and setters to provide access to private fields. In this article, we'll cover what getters and setters are, how to write them, and how to use them in your code.

What are Getters and Setters?

Getters and setters are methods that allow you to access and modify private fields in a class. A getter is typically used to retrieve the value of a field, while a setter is used to set the value of a field.

When you define a property in a C# class, you can use a getter and a setter to control access to that property. This is known as encapsulation, as it keeps the inner workings of the class hidden and allows you to control how external code interacts with it.

Writing Getters and Setters

To write a getter or setter in C#, you can use the get and set keywords. Here's an example getter/setter for a private field _name:

private string _name;

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

In this example, the get keyword is used to return the value of the _name field, while the set keyword is used to set the value of the _name field.

Using Getters and Setters

Once you've defined a getter and setter for a property, you can use it just like any other property. Here's an example:

MyClass myClass = new MyClass();
myClass.Name = "John Doe";

Console.WriteLine(myClass.Name);

In this example, we're creating a new instance of the MyClass class and setting its Name property to "John Doe". We can then use the Name property to retrieve the value of the _name field.

Conclusion

Getters and setters in C# are a powerful tool for controlling access to private fields in your classes. By using getters and setters to encapsulate your code, you can control how external code interacts with your class and ensure that it behaves as expected.