Generics in C# .NET With Examples

In this article, we are going to talk about the use of Generics in C# with examples.

Table of Contents

What is Generic in C#

Generic in C# was introduced in.NET Framework 2.0, it is basically enhancement of collection which makes our code type independent so that we can reuse our code with different data types.

For example, List in C# is a generic collection that can be used with the different data types, such as List<int>, List<float>, List<string>, or List<Employee>

Generic in C# can be defined by using <T> Type parameter to decoupled the Interface, class, method, field, property, event, operator and delegate from specific data type.

Generics in C# belongs to System.Collections.Generic namespace which contains several generic-based collection classes.

A generic type in C# is declared after the type name in an <> angle brackets, for example. Type_Name<T> where T is a type parameter that indicates any type (value or reference) can be accepted.

<T> is just a placeholder or like a blueprint for the data type. It is substituted by the actual type by the compiler at the runtime.

Note: The Generic type parameter name can be anything as per your requirements such as T , TKey , TValue or etc.

Why Generics in C#?

- - Generic types can be use to maximize code reuse, type safety, and performance.
  - Generics in C# provides a type safe approach to create collections for both reference and value types without fear of breaking its generality.
  - Unlike Object, You will get compile time errors if you try to use a different data type than the one specified in the definition.
  - Apart from type safety generics also avoid boxing and unboxing to enhance the performance.
  - In Generics there is no need for casting for accessing the elements from the collection
  - Generics allow you to add parameters to your types much like you would add parameters to your methods to extend their generality.
  - Generic provide reusability of Code as code doesn’t need to duplicate for the different data types.
  - Generics are most commonly used in C# to generate collection classes.

Declaring Generic Class In C#

A generic class can be created by specifying an actual type in <> angle brackets. The following are the example to creates an instance of the generic class “MyGenericClass”.

using System;
namespace Generic
{
    // Generic Class
    class MyGenericClass<T>
    {
        public MyGenericClass(T parameter)
        {
            Console.WriteLine(parameter);
        }
    }
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
          MyGenericClass<string> genericClassString = new MyGenericClass<string>("Hello");
          MyGenericClass<int> genericClassInt = new MyGenericClass<int>(100);
          MyGenericClass<float> genericClassFloat = new MyGenericClass<float>(100.5f);
          MyGenericClass<Char> genericClassChar = new MyGenericClass<Char>('A');
            Console.ReadLine();
        }
    }
}

Generics in C# class output — The output of the above program.

Generic Method in C# Example

A generic method is a method that is defined with a type parameter using angle <> brackets.
The generic methods can be called by passing any type of argument as follow.

using System;
namespace Generic
{ 
    class MyClass
    {
        //Generic Method
        public T MyGenericMethod<T>(T parameter)
        {
            return parameter;
        }
        
    }
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            MyClass myClass1 = new MyClass();

            string str = myClass1.MyGenericMethod<string>("Hello");  
            
            int number = myClass1.MyGenericMethod<int>(100);

            Console.WriteLine(str);
            Console.WriteLine(number);
            Console.ReadLine();
        }
    }
}

//Output:
//Hello
//100

Generic Type Constraints – where clause in C#

In generic the where clause restricts the types that are used as arguments for the type parameter during instantiation of the generic type.
You will get a compile-time error if the client code uses a type that doesn’t satisfy a constraint.

In C#, Constraints are applied by using the where keyword.

The following table contains the lists of various types of constraints in C#.

	C# Generic Constraints
where T: class	The type argument must be a reference type. This constraint can be applied to any class (non-nullable), interface, delegate, or array type in C#.
where T: class?	The type argument must be a nullable or non-nullable reference type like class, interface, delegate, or array type.
where T: new()	The type argument must be a reference type that has a public parameterless (default) constructor. It cannot be combined with struct and unmanaged constraints. When used together with other constraints like class, the new() constraint must be specified last (example: *where T: class, new()*).
where T: struct	The type argument must be non-nullable value types such as primitive data types int, double, char, bool, float, etc. The struct constraint can’t be combined with the unmanaged constraint.
where T : <interface name>	The type argument must be or implement the specified interface. Also, multiple interface constraints can be specified.
where T: U	The type argument supplied for must be or derive from the argument supplied for U. In a nullable context, if U is a non-nullable reference type, T must be a non-nullable reference type. If U is a nullable reference type, T may be either nullable or non-nullable.

C# Generic Constraints

Please read my previous article where I have discussed the Generic Delegate in C#.

I hope you enjoyed this post and found it useful. In case you have any doubt, please post your feedback, question, or comments.

References MSDN: Generic Classes and Methods

What is Generic in C#

Why Generics in C#?

Declaring Generic Class In C#

Generic Method in C# Example

Generic Type Constraints – where clause in C#

Recommended Articles

Leave a Reply Cancel reply