Implementing Accessor Methods: @synthesize

In many cases you can (and should) avoid the need to implement your own accessor methods by using the Objective-C declared properties feature and asking the compiler to synthesize accessor methods for you:

@synthesize firstName;

@synthesize fullName;

@synthesize birthday;

@synthesize luckyNumber;

Even if you need to provide your own implementation, you should declare accessors using a declared property—you must ensure, of course, that your implementation meets the specification you give. (Note in particular that by default a declared property is atomic; if you don’t provide an atomic implementation, you should specify nonatomic in the declaration.)

http://developer.apple.com/iphone/library/documentation/Cocoa/Conceptual/MemoryMgmt/Articles/mmAccessorMethods.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40003539-SW1