I thought that AS3 now has private abilities added. So why should I still preface private variables with an underscore?
private var _privVar:String;
+1
A:
You don't have to. It's something that encourages readability, but is by no means mandatory. Entirely a personal preference.
heavilyinvolved
2009-11-28 20:30:20
+3
A:
I make it a general rule in ActionScript 3 to follow how Adobe writes there code.
Don't use underscores for private varibles unless your using a getter or setter. For example:
private var _foo:String;
public function get foo():String
{
return _foo;
}
public function set foo(value:String):void
{
_foo = value;
}
This example getter/setter is a little useless, as you could just make a public property that does the same thing. Only use a getter or setter when you need to do something special when you get or set the property. Even then, it's usually best just to create a public method instead.
Also another point. Personally I don't think it's a good idea to abreviate your variable or method names. So instead of calling my variable privVar, I would call it privateVariable. This is expecially true if you are using a coding IDE with autocomplete/suggest such as FlashBuilder(Flex Builder) or FlashDevelop.
Take a look at Adobe - coding conventions and best practices for more information.
TandemAdam
2009-11-29 00:11:10
If the getter and setter aren't doing anything special, it would be faster to just make the variable public. It's not going to hurt anyone.
LiraNuna
2009-11-29 00:30:06
exactly! My example was just a very simple one to express my point. It is quite rare that you would actually use getters or setters in AS3. Most of the time you make a public property or a public method.
TandemAdam
2009-11-29 00:32:54
Quite rare? Hardly. I guess it depends on how you code, but I code against interfaces quite a bit and getter/setter is the only way to achieve this.
Joel Hooks
2009-11-29 17:39:25
To me, using getters and setters seems like a bad design decision. But I guess it makes sense to use them to enforce Interfaces. Anything other reason and getters and setters would be a lazy and messy choice.
TandemAdam
2009-11-29 19:54:45
A:
Using an underscore is just a convention. And I try to avoid them because it messes with my intellisense. I'm used to typing obj.va and hitting ctrl-space in flex builder to get obj.variableName - this doesn't work well with _variableName
Btw, does earlier versions of ActionScript require you to preface "private" variable names with an underscore?
Amarghosh
2009-11-29 17:32:06