In C# what does this code with "get" mean?

Question

I am new to C#.

private string m;
public string M { get { return m; } }

Is this kind of a getter/setter in C# like Java?

Answer 1

This part is a field:

private string m;

This part is a read-only property that returns the value of the m field:

public string M { get { return m; } }

You could make this a read-write property like so:

public string M {
    get { return m; }
    set { m = value; }
}

Or you could have more complex logic in there:

public string M {
    get {
        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(m))
            return "m is null or empty";
        return m;
    }
}

Basically, fields are only good at holding things, while properties are more like methods and can introduce logic.

Answer 2

private string m;

First, you create a new string variable with private modifier. If this in class, then it's not visible outside of this class.

public string M { get { return m; } }

Then you create a property of that string variable. This property is read-only and then you can access this variable outside of class where you created this variable. You cannot assign values to this variable with this type of property.