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When should I use a struct rather than a class in C#?

Asked 2009-02-06T17:37:55.573
1656

When should you use struct and not class in C#? My conceptual model is that structs are used in times when the item is merely a collection of value types. A way to logically hold them all together into a cohesive whole.

I came across these rules here:

  • A struct should represent a single value.
  • A struct should have a memory footprint less than 16 bytes.
  • A struct should not be changed after creation.

Do these rules work? What does a struct mean semantically?

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The source referenced by the OP has some credibility ...but what about Microsoft - what is the stance on struct usage? I sought some extra learning from Microsoft, and here is what I found:

Consider defining a structure instead of a class if instances of the type are small and commonly short-lived or are commonly embedded in other objects.

Do not define a structure unless the type has all of the following characteristics:

  1. It logically represents a single value, similar to primitive types (integer, double, and so on).
  2. It has an instance size smaller than 16 bytes.
  3. It is immutable.
  4. It will not have to be boxed frequently.

Microsoft consistently violates those rules

Okay, #2 and #3 anyway. Our beloved dictionary has 2 internal structs:

[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]  // default for structs
private struct Entry  //<Tkey, TValue>
{
    //  View code at *Reference Source
}

[Serializable, StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
public struct Enumerator : 
    IEnumerator<KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>>, IDisposable, 
    IDictionaryEnumerator, IEnumerator
{
    //  View code at *Reference Source
}

*Reference Source

The 'JonnyCantCode.com' source got 3 out of 4 - quite forgivable since #4 probably wouldn't be an issue. If you find yourself boxing a struct, rethink your architecture.

Let's look at why Microsoft would use these structs:

  1. Each struct, Entry and Enumerator, represent single values.
  2. Speed
  3. Entry is never passed as a parameter outside of the Dictionary class. Further
answered 2011-08-07T13:44:41.570

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