Use the using directive to create an alias for a long namespace or class name. You can then use it anywhere you normally would have used that class or namespace. The using alias has a scope within the namespace you declare it in. Sample code: ...

This is all to do with polymorphism. When a virtual method is called on a reference, the actual type of the object that the reference refers to is used to decide which method implementation to use. When a method of a base class is overridden in a...

Checked exceptions are a very hotly debated topic in some circles, particularly for experienced Java developers moving to, or additionally learning, C#. Here are some resources that discuss the issue in depth: The Trouble With Checked Exceptions...

Using the as operator differs from a cast in C# in three important ways: It returns null when the variable you are trying to convert is not of the requested type or in it's inheritance chain, instead of throwing an exception. It can...

C# defines a number of aliases for CLR types. They may be used interchangably, and even mixed together, e.g. string x = new System.String(' ', 5); . These are the aliases defined: Alias CLR type string System.String ...

Put simply, an event gives more limited access than a delegate. If an event is made public, code in other classes can only add or remove handlers for that event; they can't necessarily fire it, find out all the handlers for it, or remove handlers...

All constants declarations are implicitly static, and the C# specification states that the (redundant) inclusion of the static modifier is prohibited. I believe this is to avoid the confusion which could occur if a reader were to see two constants...

C# defines the following character escape sequences: \' - single quote, needed for character literals \" - double quote, needed for string literals \\ - backslash \0 - Unicode character 0 \a - Alert (character 7) \b - Backspace...

A string literal such as @"c:\Foo" is called a verbatim string literal . It basically means, "don't apply any interpretations to characters until the next quote character is reached". So, a verbatim string literal can contain backslashes (without...

By default, all parameters are passed by value in C#. Parameters are only passed by reference if you explicitly include an out or ref modifier. However, you need to be aware that when the type of the parameter is a reference type, you're passing...

Although C# doesn't have templates, and isn't likely to get them, it is getting a feature called generics which will be available in the next version of .NET and Visual Studio. Generics will be a feature in the CLR itself, and most languages targetting...

Many people, including the C# language designers, believe that 'with' often harms readability, and is more of a curse than a blessing. It is clearer to declare a local variable with a meaningful name, and use that variable to perform multiple operations...

The choice between C# and VB.NET is largely one of subjective preference. Some people like C#'s terse syntax, others like VB.NET's natural language, case-insensitive approach. Both have access to the same framework libraries. Both will perform...

There are two versions of the C# specification - one from Microsoft, and one from ECMA. They are the same in all important respects (a few pieces of explanatory wording are different, but nothing that affects the specification itself) but the numbering...

Section 10.9.2 of the language specification says: A binary operator must take two parameters, at least one of which must have the class or struct type in which the operator is declared. Parameters of the shift operators ( § 7.8 ) are further...

In C++, I can define a macro such as: #define PRODUCT(x, y, z) x * y * z and then use it in code: int a = PRODUCT(3, 2, 1); C# doesn't allow you to do this. Why? There are a few reasons why. The first is one of readability. One of our...

In C#, when you specify a “using” clause, such as using System.Text; the compiler only imports the types in System.Text into the global namespace - it doesn't do the same with any namespaces inside of System.Text. So, while that using...

Some languages provide a power operator, so one can write something like: float result = value^2; rather than having to resort to calling. We don't have one in C#. It would be possible to add a power operator to the language, but performing this...

This answer is from Chris Brumme via the following post . I've copied the text in here in case the post disappears. *** There are a number of reasons we don't implement Multiple Implementation Inheritance directly. (As you know, we support Multiple...

Update: Named and optional (default) parameters are available starting from C# 4.0. For more information, see Named and Optional Arguments (C# Programming Guide) . In languages such as C++, a default value can be included as part of the method...

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