Property vs Function (specifically .NET)

Question

I\'ve read some discussions about this subject, and there\'s something I just don\'t understand.

The most common answer seems to be this: use a ReadOnly Property to

Answer 1

Properties are a convenient substitute for method-based operations. There's no functional difference between a property-getter-setter and a method that performs the same actions; in fact, if you look at IL you'll see the property accessors replaced by "get" and/or "set" methods.

The strongest reason to use properties over just allowing access to the variables is encapsulation. Let's say you're writing a library and you expose an IsBlue variable. You distribute the library, everyone loves and uses it. Now, it's time for version 2, and you want to do something when the user sets IsBlue - maybe perform a check, maybe cache something. To do that, you'll have to convert the variable into a property or method, and do the check in there. Now, you've broken all your client code - the variable they had accessed isn't there anymore. If you had implemented it originally as a property, you could have just modified the property's code, and retained binary compatibility.