Clean Code: Should Objects have public properties?

Question

I\'m reading the book \"Clean Code\" and am struggling with a concept. When discussing Objects and Data Structures, it states the following:

• Objects hide thei

Answer 1

Public properties are fine. Not having to write explicit GetHeight() and SetHeight() methods is what properties are all about. A property in C# is not data; it is best viewed as a pair of getter/setter methods. (Properties are actually compiled down into methods in the generated IL.)

The data hiding is possible because you can change the implementation without changing the interface. For example, you could change

public int Height { get; set; }

into

public int Height { get { return m_width; } set { m_width = value; } }

if you decided that your object should always be square. The code using your class would not need any modifications.

So if your object exposes public properties, it still "hides it data behind abstractions and exposes functions that operate on that data", as the book recommends.