C# 3.0 auto-properties — useful or not? [closed]

Answer 1

I always create properties instead of public fields because you can use properties in an interface definition, you can't use public fields in an interface definition.

Answer 2

My biggest gripe with auto-properties is that they are designed to save time but I often find I have to expand them into full blown properties later.

What VS2008 is missing is an Explode Auto-Property refactor.

The fact we have an encapsulate field refactor makes the way I work quicker to just use public fields.

Answer 3

Auto-properties are as much a black magic as anything else in C#. Once you think about it in terms of compiling down to IL rather than it being expanded to a normal C# property first it's a lot less black magic than a lot of other language constructs.

Answer 4

I think any construct that is intuitive AND reduces the lines of code is a big plus.

Those kinds of features are what makes languages like Ruby so powerful (that and dynamic features, which also help reduce excess code).

Ruby has had this all along as:

attr_accessor :my_property
attr_reader :my_getter
attr_writer :my_setter

Answer 5

Well with code snippets an auto-property of the same name would be seven keystrokes in total ;)

Answer 6

@Domenic : I don't get it.. can't you do this with auto-properties?:

public string Title { get; }

or

public string Title { get; private set; }

Is this what you are referring to?