Asked by reader. Answered by the Wonk on October 17, 2002

A.

Properties are strange beasts. They look like fields to the user of the class, but they�re implemented like methods. Of course, this combines the ease of syntax of fields with the flexibility of implementing methods, but C# syntax, while concise, is unintuitive. If you�re unfamiliar with properties, the following is the use and implementation of an integer property called Number:

class Foo {

    private int number = 42;

    // Number property implementation

    public int Number {

        get { return number; }

        set { number = value; }

    }

}

// Number property usage

Foo foo = new Foo();

foo.Number = 13;

Console.WriteLine("My lucky number= {0}", foo.Number);

Even once you get your head around the property syntax, you may still find it tedious. To save yourself some trouble, right-click on a class in the VS.NET Class View and choose Add->Add Property to get a little wizard that knows how to take the name and type of your property and turn it into a skeleton for you. There are other menu options for methods, properties and indexers, as well.