Properties

Properties look like fields from the outside, but internally they contain logic, like methods do. For example, you can’t tell by looking at the following code whether CurrentPrice is a field or a property:

Stock msft = new Stock();
msft.CurrentPrice = 30;
msft.CurrentPrice -= 3;
Console.WriteLine (msft.CurrentPrice);

A property is declared like a field, but with a get/set block added. Here’s how to implement CurrentPrice as a property:

public class Stock
{
  decimal currentPrice;  // The private "backing" field

  public decimal CurrentPrice    // The public property
  {
     get { return currentPrice; }
     set { currentPrice = value; }
  }
}

get and set denote property accessors. The get accessor runs when the property is read. It must return a value of the property’s type. The