Public Fields

Public fields are class or struct members in object-oriented programming that are directly accessible from outside the class, without requiring getter or setter methods. They expose data directly, allowing external code to read or modify their values, which can simplify code but may compromise encapsulation and data integrity if not used carefully.

Also known as: public variables, public members, public attributes, exposed fields, accessible fields

Why learn Public Fields?

Developers should use public fields when creating simple data structures like DTOs (Data Transfer Objects) or POCOs (Plain Old CLR Objects) where encapsulation is not a priority, or in performance-critical scenarios where minimizing method calls is beneficial. They are also common in languages like Python or JavaScript where public access is the default, but in stricter languages like Java or C#, they are generally discouraged in favor of properties or private fields with accessors to maintain control over data.

Learning Resources

• docs: MDN Web Docs: Public and private class fields
• docs: Microsoft Learn: Fields (C# Programming Guide)
• docs: Oracle Java Tutorials: Declaring Member Variables
• tutorial: GeeksforGeeks: Public vs Private Access Modifiers in Java
• video: YouTube: Public and Private Fields in Python