Doesn't C# have "magic" getters and setters, where code like "foo.bar = quux;" might mean a function call? To me, that's not clearer at all.
For example, Foo.X might be an x position, returned from a getter method, and set with a setter method. Internally, the class make use the Foo.x field to store it, in which case the getter and setter are trivial. In fact, C# will write them for you The property could look like:
int X{
get;
set;
}
Classes should, as a general rule, only expose properties and methods to the outside world. All fields should be private. Yes, accessing a property calls a method, but so does a Java getX().
Java uses the same rule, except getters and setters are implemented using setX(int) and getX(). C# properties are the equivalent. The client of a class should not care how the class stores values, but that the getters and setters work.
If only. In http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/vstudio/ms229043%28v..., Microsoft advocates:
"The PascalCasing convention, used for all identifiers except parameter names, capitalizes the first character of each word"
Also, as the guy below me pointed out, by convention you know that Foo is a property.
Your application shouldn't hang from a database call when you pull a property from an object. And obviously, methods doing such things should be documented appropriately.