Properties vs Methods

Question

Quick question: When do you decide to use properties (in C#) and when do you decide to use methods?

We are busy having this debate and have found some areas where it

Answer 1

Properties are a way to inject or retrieve data from an object. They create an abstraction over variables or data within a class. They are analogous to getters and setters in Java.

Methods encapsulate an operation.

In general I use properties to expose single bits of data, or small calculations on a class, like sales tax. Which is derived from the number of items and their cost in a shopping cart.

I use methods when I create an operation, like retrieving data from the database. Any operation that has moving parts, is a candidate for a method.

In your code example I would wrap it in a property if I need to access it outside it's containing class:

public Label Title 
{
   get{ return titleLabel;}
   set{ titleLabel = value;}
}

Setting the text:

Title.Text = "Properties vs Methods";

If I was only setting the Text property of the Label this is how I would do it:

public string Title 
{
   get{ return titleLabel.Text;}
   set{ titleLabel.Text = value;}
}

Setting the text:

Title = "Properties vs Methods";