[anthonyb]

> It's always easier to expose something later than to make it private later.

...if you're using Java, since (AFAIK) you can't switch between public fields and getters/setters. Python, however, has properties: http://www.python.org/download/releases/2.2.3/descrintro/#pr... . Point 4 of http://dirtsimple.org/2004/12/python-is-not-java.html covers why they're a good idea, though you can probably figure it out from their description.

[MartinCron]

Yes, I do a lot of work in C#, which has properties that are code-compatible with public fields. The last time I did a Java project, I was surprised at how much I missed them.