What is a getter and setter?

Getter and setter are special methods used in object-oriented programming to access and modify the values of private (or protected) class fields.

Getter:

• Provides controlled access for reading the value of a field.
• Usually has a name starting with get (e.g., getName()).
• Can perform additional actions before returning the value (e.g., formatting or validation).

Setter:

• Provides controlled access for writing a new value to a field.
• Usually has a name starting with set (e.g., setName()).
• Can perform validation of input data before assigning the value to the field.
• Allows implementing logic when changing the value of a field (e.g., notifying other parts of the program).

Example in Python:

class Person:
    def __init__(self, name):
        self._name = name # Private field

    # Getter
    def get_name(self):
        return self._name

    # Setter
    def set_name(self, new_name):
        if isinstance(new_name, str) and len(new_name) > 0:
            self._name = new_name
        else:
            print("Invalid name provided")

# Usage
person = Person("Alice")
print(person.get_name()) # Using getter

person.set_name("Bob") # Using setter
print(person.get_name())

person.set_name("") # Example of setter with validation

Using getters and setters promotes encapsulation, allowing control over access and modification of data within an object, ensuring better structure and maintainability of code.