When to use get/set Methods in java [duplicate]

Answer 1

I suspect most will say to always use getters/setters to access private members. It's not necessary, but is considered a "best practice".

One advantage is that you can have more than just simple assignment and returning. Example:

public void setLevel(int lvl)
{
    if (lvl<0)
    {
        this.level=1;
    }
    else
        this.level = lvl;
}

public int getLevel()
{
    if (this.someIndicator==4)
        return this.level*7.1;
    else
        return level;
}