color and file dialog different operator signs

Question

examples:

1. picturebox1.backcolor = colordialog1.color

2. picturebox1.load(openfiledialog1.filename)

question: Why does number one use a = sign and number two use parenthesis to use the dialog result?

Answer 1

Number one is a property and number two a method.

Difference

• A property normally just gets/sets a private field in a class and should not have side-effects or be an expensive operation.
• A method in a class can be a procedure that performs some sort of operation on the data within the class.