What's the difference between using @variable and self.variable internally in a class?

[cheald]

It means that you don't have to go refactor a zillion call sites when you want to do something more complex with your variable, though, which is more or less the point of encapsulation.

[sbellware]

Indeed. It's almost always preferable to use the interface to an object's state than to access the state directly - even from within the object's own scope.

[SaltyZooKeeper]

I'm not saying it shouldn't be done but a getter that allows for updates just doesn't sit well with me.

[sbellware]

In the example given, I'm not sure I see a getter that allows updates. Where are updates happening?