Thank you, Laurent_R. After reading the string of comments on this node , the ideas you shared started making more sense. I am starting to appreciate the significance of getter/setter functions though I have to admit that I am still conscious about not breaking an object's encapsulation - even to the extent of not breaking it inside an object. However, I am learning that it is perfectly alright since setter and getter functions reside inside an object, or, even better, a class. Thank you again for sharing your ideas. :)