This post originated from an RSS feed registered with .NET Buzz by Eric Gunnerson. Original Post: Jay and Properties... Feed Title: Eric Gunnerson's C# Compendium Feed URL: /msdnerror.htm?aspxerrorpath=/ericgu/Rss.aspx Feed Description: Eric comments on C#, programming and dotnet in general, and the aerodynamic characteristics of the red-nosed flying squirrel of the Lesser Antilles Latest .NET Buzz Posts Latest .NET Buzz Posts by Eric Gunnerson Latest Posts From Eric Gunnerson's C# Compendium

Jay wrote a post entitled Properties? Not my bag, baby.

When I first started writing C# code, I used properties for everything. But recently, I've felt that I was wasting a lot of time writing trivial properties. Yes, I know that in Whidbey I'll be able to use expansions to write them easily, but that still means that I have to deal with the property bodies cluttering up my code.

So, that got me thinking about whether it makes sense to be writing properties in the first place. After a bit of thought, here's my current position:

Properties are a great thing for component libraries. There are certainly cases where you would want the future-proofing and decoupling that properties gives you.

But when you're working on a single project that gets built all at once, I don't think you're getting any future-proofing benefits, and you have to pay the “property tax” the whole time.

This may be heretical, since “use properties” has been the common guideline.

What do you think?