setter and getter methods in php

• set property visibility to private
• define a method to set the propertys value
• define a method to get the propertys value

Example:

<?php
class Product{
private $name;
public function set_name($value){
return $this->name=$value;
}
public function get_name(){
return $this->name;
}
}
$p=new Product;
$p->set_name('Laptop');
$p->get_name();//Laptop

• Allow access to otherwise private properties
• usefull to regulate access
• useful for read only or write only properties
• useful for pre processing values
• avoid 'naive setter' and 'naive getter' methods