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Cheatsheets / Learn C#

Learn C#: Classes and Objects

C# Classes

In C#, classes are used to create custom types. The using System;
class defines the kinds of information and methods
included in a custom type.
namespace BasicClasses
{
class Forest {
public string name;
public int trees;
}
}

// Here we have the Forest class which

has two pieces of data, called fields.
They are the "name" and "trees" fields.

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C# Constructor

In C#, whenever an instance of a class is created, its // Takes two arguments

constructor is called. Like methods, a constructor can
public Forest(int area, string country)
be overloaded. It must have the same name as the
enclosing class. This is useful when you may want to {
define an additional constructor that takes a different this.Area = area;
number of arguments.
this.Country = country;
}

// Takes one argument

public Forest(int area)
{
this.Area = area;
this.Country = "Unknown";
}

// Typically, a constructor is used to

set initial values and run any code
needed to “set up” an instance.

// A constructor looks like a method, but

its return type and method name are
reduced to the name of the enclosing
type.

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C# Parameterless Constructor

In C#, if no constructors are specified in a class, the public class Freshman

compiler automatically creates a parameterless
{
constructor.
public string FirstName
{ get; set; }
}

public static void Main (string[] args)

{
Freshman f = new Freshman();
// name is null
string name = f.FirstName;
}

// In this example, no constructor is

defined in Freshman, but a parameterless
constructor is still available for use in
Main().

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C# Access Modifiers

In C#, members of a class can be marked with access public class Speech
modifiers, including public and private . A public
{
member can be accessed by other classes. A private
member can only be accessed by code in the same private string greeting = "Greetings";
class.
By default, fields, properties, and methods are private,
private string FormalGreeting()
and classes are public.
{
return $"{greeting} and salutations";
}

public string Scream()

{
return FormalGreeting().ToUpper();
}

public static void Main (string[] args)

{
Speech s = new Speech();
//string sfg = s.FormalGreeting(); //
Error!
//string sg = s.greeting; // Error!
Console.WriteLine(s.Scream());
}

// In this example, greeting and

FormalGreeting() are private. They cannot
be called from the Main() method, which
belongs to a different class. However the
code within Scream() can access those
members because Scream() is part of the
same class.

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C# Field

In C#, a field stores a piece of data within an object. It public class Person
acts like a variable and may have a different value for
{
each instance of a type.
A field can have a number of modifiers, including: private string firstName;
public , private , static , and readonly . If no access private string lastName;
modifier is provided, a field is private by default.
}

// In this example, firstName and

lastName are private fields of the Person
class.

// For effective encapsulation, a field

is typically set to private, then
accessed using a property. This ensures
that values passed to an instance are
validated (assuming the property
implements some kind of validation for
its field).

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C# this Keyword

In C#, the this keyword refers to the current instance // We can use the this keyword to refer
of a class.
to the current class’s members hidden by
similar names:
public NationalPark(int area, string
state)
{
this.area = area;
this.state = state;
}

// The code below requires duplicate

code, which can lead to extra work and
errors when changes are needed:
public NationalPark(int area, string
state)
{
area = area;
state = state;
}
public NationalPark(int area)
{
area = area;
state = "Unknown";
}

// Use this to have one constructor call

another:
public NationalPark(int area) : this
(state, "Unknown")
{ }

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C# Members

In C#, a class contains members, which define the kind class Forest
of data stored in a class and the behaviors a class can
{
perform.
public string name;
public string Name
{
get { return name; }
set { name = value; }
}
}

// A member of a class can be a field

(like name), a property (like Name) or a
method (like get()/set()). It can also be
any of the following:
// Constants
// Constructors
// Events
// Finalizers
// Indexers
// Operators
// Nested Types

C# Dot Notation

In C#, a member of a class can be accessed with dot string greeting = "hello";
notation.

// Prints 5
Console.WriteLine(greeting.Length);

// Returns 8
Math.Min(8, 920);

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C# Class Instance

In C#, an object is an instance of a class. An object can Burger cheeseburger = new Burger();
be created from a class using the new keyword.
// If a class is a recipe, then an object
is a single meal made from that recipe.

House tudor = new House();

// If a class is a blueprint, then an
object is a house made from that
blueprint.

C# Property

In C#, a property is a member of an object that public class Freshman

controls how one field may be accessed and/or
{
modified. A property defines two methods: a get()
method that describes how a field can be accessed, private string firstName;
and a set() method that describes how a field can be
modified.
public string FirstName
One use case for properties is to control access to a
field. Another is to validate values for a field. {
get { return firstName; }
set { firstName = value; }
}
}

public static void Main (string[] args) {

Freshman f = new Freshman();
f.FirstName = "Louie";

// Prints "Louie"
Console.WriteLine(f.FirstName);
}

// In this example, FirstName is a

property

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C# Auto-Implemented Property

In C#, an auto-implemented property reads and writes public class HotSauce

to a private field, like other properties, but it does not
{
require explicit definitions for the accessor methods
nor the field. It is used with the { get; set; } syntax. public string Title
This helps your code become more concise. { get; set; }

public string Origin

{ get; set; }
}

// In this example, Title and Origin are

auto-implemented properties. Notice that
a definition for each field (like private
string title) is no longer necessary. A
hidden, private field is created for each
property during runtime.

C# Static Constructor

In C#, a static constructor is run once per type, not per class Forest
instance. It must be parameterless. It is invoked before
{
the type is instantiated or a static member is accessed.
static Forest()
{
Console.WriteLine("Type
Initialized");
}
}
// In this class, either of the following
two lines would trigger the static
constructor (but it would not be
triggered twice if these two lines
followed each other in succession):
Forest f = new Forest();
Forest.Define();

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C# Static Class

In C#, a static class cannot be instantiated. Its //Two examples of static classes calling
members are accessed by the class name.
static methods:
This is useful when you want a class that provides a set
of tools, but doesn’t need to maintain any internal data.
Math is a commonly-used static class. Math.Min(23, 97);
Console.WriteLine("Let's Go!");

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