Can not override setters / getters

[mrimvo]

Godot version:
3.2.2 stable

OS/device including version:
Linux

Issue description:
I tried to override Label's set_text(value) to add custom logic.

Expected: method to be called when trying to set the text.
Observed: method is not called.

Steps to reproduce:

Run a scene with this Script attached to a Label:

extends Label

func _ready():
	text = "abc"
	
# This setter method is never called
func set_text(value):
	.set_text(value)

[Calinou]

You need to define a _set() method for this:

func _set(name, value):
    match name:
        "text":
            print("Text is being set to ", value)
            text = value

There's also the _get() method.

[mrimvo]

This works very well, thank you.

[NathanLovato]

This is already in the docs it seems

[xsellier]

This is already in the docs it seems

May you please quote the documentation please?
Link to the doc:
https://docs.godotengine.org/en/latest/tutorials/scripting/overridable_functions.html

[vibrunazo]

As of 4.1.2-stable and 4.2beta4, _set can no longer be used to override parent properties. You can use it to add side effects to setting the property, but attempting to change the actual property value in set will not do anything.

[zimonitrome]

@NathanLovato Not sure if this is a duplicate but I would suggest re-opening this issue as per @vibrunazo's comment.

In general it would be nice to be able to override variable getters and setters, but I guess then we would need to be able to override class variables (attributes) too (which I wouldn't mind).

[NathanLovato]

I don't work at Godot or maintain these issues so I won't be able to help here. I just maintained the official documentation a couple years back.

There's likely a good reason why this is not possible anymore but you'll have to see this with someone who knows about the history of this feature.

[dalexeev]

@zimonitrome

• Native non-virtual methods cannot be overridden, see the warning at the end of the section. This is not a bug, but a limitation.
  • Specifically for setters/getters of built-in properties, you can partially work around this by "overriding" these properties in _set() and _get(). This will work in the Inspector, when calling set() and get(), when serializing the object, but will not work if the engine modifies the property value on an internal event.
• Setters/getters of custom properties can be overridden, but this is only allowed for separated setters/getters.

[zimonitrome]

@dalexeev Thanks for the info. I'm aware this isn't a bug and I assume that's why this issue has the "enhancement" tag. I understand now that this issue regarded setters/getters of built-in properties, which is not my specific concern.

For custom properties, having separate setters and getters (as stand alone methods) makes sense to me, even if a tad clunky. Thanks for the suggestion.

In a more macro sense, why aren't properties virtual in the first place? Would this lead to some unforeseen consequences?

Edit:
Here is an issue regarding overriding variables: godotengine/godot-proposals#338
Related draft PR: #93787
Issue for overriding custom setters/getters: godotengine/godot-proposals#8045