Apart from an architectural point of view, i'm wondering if there is any difference in .net between a readonly property and a function. Are properties only conceptual wrappers around functions?

```
    Private m_Property As String 
    Public ReadOnly Property PropertyGet() As String
        Get
            Return m_Property
        End Get
    End Property

    Public Function FunctionGet() As String
        Return m_Property
    End Function

```

Disassembling IL shows that there's no difference apart from the name, but are there differences at another level? Is the getter just a function in short(!?)hand? 

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`Edit`: wow, i'm really sorry about not being able to mark multiple answers.

The first answer that pointed out the use of properties to serialize was the road to enlightenment since i had completely left this aspect out. Before that, the explanation of property vs function as "is" vs "does" felt arbitrary. Now, i grok it more.

I think the consensus on property being not time consuming stems from the "is"/serializable
concept. If my property talks to a database to store the "is" value, it breaks in horrible ways.