title: Protected member field and its property
body: <p>Suppose you have the following A class definition:</p>
  
  <pre><code>class A
  {
     protected double[] _temperatures;
  
     double[] Temperature
     { 
        get {return _temperatures;} 
        set {_temperatures = value;}
     }
  }
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>How should I access temperatures in a derived class B? Using the member field or the property? Should I declare <code>_temperatures</code> as <code>private</code> and always use the property? What is the overhead of using the property instead of direct member field access?</p>
  
  <p>Thanks.</p>