object.attribute vs. object.getAttribute()

[Lulu of the Lotus-Eaters]

Roy Smith <roy at panix.com> wrote previously:
|1) Implicit documentation of which attributes I intended to be part of
|an object's externally visible state (accessors).

Some attribute names start with an underscore.  Those are the ones that
are NOT intended to be part of the external interface.

|2) Hooks to do data checking or invarient assertions (mutators).

Yep, you need accessors (or properties) to do this.

|3) Decoupling classes by hiding the details of data structures.

Initial underscores again.

|4) Vague feeling that I'm doing a good thing by being more in line with
|mainstream OO practices :-)

If you want to be mainstream, use VB.  But accessors are not IMO a
requirement for "proper" OOP.

Yours, Lulu...

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