text: Q:
  
  Is a DML operation required to update a new object's members?
  
  Imagine I created a new object in apex code using the new statement, and had some visualforce fields with their values set to the new object's fields.
  If I want to use the values the user types into the fields programmatically BEFORE I insert to the database will the values still be what they were initialised as or will they be what the user typed in the visualforce fields?
  
  A:
  
  If you access the fields in a controller method that runs after e.g. an apex:commandButton is clicked, then the values from the page will have been bound back into the in-memory SObject potentially replacing any values you set when you initialised the SObject. And when you insert into the database it will be those values that get inserted.
  So yes you can use the values entered in the Visualforce page before the database insert.
  
  