Rust for C-Programmers

9.6 Getters and Setters

Getters and setters offer controlled, often validated, access to struct fields.

9.6.1 Getters

A typical getter method returns a reference to a field:

impl Person {
    fn name(&self) -> &str {
        &self.name
    }
}

9.6.2 Setters

Setters allow controlled updates and can validate or restrict new values:

impl Person {
    fn set_age(&mut self, age: u8) {
        if age >= self.age {
            self.age = age;
        } else {
            println!("Cannot decrease age.");
        }
    }
}

Getters and setters clarify where and how data can change, improving code readability and safety.