Abstract class containing magic __set and __get methods to alleviate B/C issues with removing underscore from protected properties.

magic.php

<?php

abstract class JFixProtected
{
  public function __set($name, $value)
  {
    $name = $this->cleanPropertyName($name);

    $this->$name = $value;
  }

  public function __get($name)
  {
    $name = $this->cleanPropertyName($name);

    return $this->$name ?: null;
  }

  private function cleanPropertyName($name)
  {
    if (strpos('_', $name) === 0)
    {
      $name = str_replace('_', '', $name);
    }

    return $name;
  }
}