Can somebody help me understand the get & set ? Why are they needed? I can just make a public variable. What are properties? Properties are language elements that allow you to avoid the repetitive getXYZ() accessors and setXYZ() mutators techniques found in other languages, like Java. Why do they exist? They aim to solve the following problems: Saying get and set in the beginning of every access or mutation of a value is annoying and distracting. In Java, you often say: class person { private int _age ; public void setAge ( int value ) { /*check value first, then set _age*/ } public int getAge () { return this . _age ; } } and then consistently say: if ( person . getAge () > blah || person . getAge () < 10 ) { person . setAge ( 5 ); } After a while, the get and set become rather annoying. Providing direct access to the actual variable breaks encapsulation, so that's not an option. H
software engineering