Welcome to the Treehouse Community

Want to collaborate on code errors? Have bugs you need feedback on? Looking for an extra set of eyes on your latest project? Get support with fellow developers, designers, and programmers of all backgrounds and skill levels here with the Treehouse Community! While you're at it, check out some resources Treehouse students have shared here.

Looking to learn something new?

Treehouse offers a seven day free trial for new students. Get access to thousands of hours of content and join thousands of Treehouse students and alumni in the community today.

Start your free trial

Ruby

Adri Johari
Adri Johari
17,075 Points

can someone explain to me when to use attr_writer only or attr_reader only?

can someone explain to me when to use attr_writer only or attr_reader only?

1 Answer

For data protection (aka encapsulation). Sometimes, you don't want other parts of the program accidentally writing to/reading from attributes. Of course, if you wanted to completely omit the possibility of reading/writing outside of the class, you can neither use attr_accessor, attr_reader, nor attr_writer. But sometimes (and often times), you want to have only either attr_writer or attr_reader.