Getters, setters, and properties best practices. Java vs. C#

Question

I\'m taking a C# class right now and I\'m trying to find out the best way of doing things. I come from a Java background and so I\'m only familiar with Java best-practices;

Answer 1

If all you need is a variable to store some data:

public string Name { get; set; }

Want to make it appear read-only?

public string Name { get; private set; }

Or even better...

private readonly string _name;

...

public string Name { get { return _name; } }

Want to do some value checking before assigning the property?

public string Name 
{
   get { return m_name; }
   set
   {
      if (value == null)
         throw new ArgumentNullException("value");

      m_name = value;
   }
}

In general, the GetXyz() and SetXyz() are only used in certain cases, and you just have to use your gut on when it feels right. In general, I would say that I expect most get/set properties to not contain a lot of logic and have very few, if any, unexpected side effects. If reading a property value requires invoking a service or getting input from a user in order to build the object that I'm requesting, then I would wrap it into a method, and call it something like BuildXyz(), rather than GetXyz().