Re: Accessors vs Properties

[Debarshi Ray <rishi is lostca se>]

On Tue, Jan 03, 2017 at 10:46:13PM +0100, Tobias Knopp wrote:
> - Is any accessor backuped with a property and vice versa?

Nicola already answered this.

> - Which one is to prefer?

It depends.

For simple setting and getting of values from C, I prefer the
accessors because (a) it lets the compiler do some minimal type
checking (b) accessors are more efficient at returning a C string than
g_object_get. However, you need properties if you want to have a
'parametrized constructor'. ie. pass arguments to a *_new function.

Properties are more convenient from higher-level languages. eg., in
JavaScript, you can use my_obj.prop to access a property.

They also offer extra features:

(a) You can bind a property on one object to another property
elsewhere (see g_object_bind_property*).

(b) Every property comes with its own 'notify' signal that you can use
to listen for changes.

(c) They can be introspected at run-time, which is very useful if you
are writing a tool like the gtk+ inspector, glade or d-feet.