Is it better use getter methods or to access private fields directly when overriding toString? [duplicate]

Question

I've seen both approaches used but have never heard that one way is preferred over the other for any particular reason.

public String toString() {
  return this.field1 + " " + this.field2;
}

versus

public String toString() {
  return getField1() + " " + getField2();
}

I used String concatenation in my example to keep the code brief.

Answer 1

Use getters, if you have them!

Maybe, one day you change the code so that a getter will not only return the fields value but do something more or create the result in a different way. Then you'll be more then happy that you used getters consistently.

But as usual, there are excemptions from my advice - what do you expect from the toString() method if you allow overriding of the getter methods, do you want it use the classes fields or the result of the - maybe override - getter method.

So, as usual, it depends, but I'd use getters unless I have a good reason to access the fields directly.

Answer 2

Using accessor methods might be preferred if they provide any additional logic on top of just returning the field's value (like uppercasing a string, or something like that). If your class is designed to be extended, I would tend towards accessors because they may be overridden.