
- •Foreword
- •Introduction
- •Scope
- •Conformance
- •Normative references
- •Definitions
- •Notational conventions
- •Acronyms and abbreviations
- •General description
- •Language overview
- •Getting started
- •Types
- •Predefined types
- •Conversions
- •Array types
- •Type system unification
- •Variables and parameters
- •Automatic memory management
- •Expressions
- •Statements
- •Classes
- •Constants
- •Fields
- •Methods
- •Properties
- •Events
- •Operators
- •Indexers
- •Instance constructors
- •Destructors
- •Static constructors
- •Inheritance
- •Static classes
- •Partial type declarations
- •Structs
- •Interfaces
- •Delegates
- •Enums
- •Namespaces and assemblies
- •Versioning
- •Extern Aliases
- •Attributes
- •Generics
- •Why generics?
- •Creating and consuming generics
- •Multiple type parameters
- •Constraints
- •Generic methods
- •Anonymous methods
- •Iterators
- •Lexical structure
- •Programs
- •Grammars
- •Lexical grammar
- •Syntactic grammar
- •Grammar ambiguities
- •Lexical analysis
- •Line terminators
- •Comments
- •White space
- •Tokens
- •Unicode escape sequences
- •Identifiers
- •Keywords
- •Literals
- •Boolean literals
- •Integer literals
- •Real literals
- •Character literals
- •String literals
- •The null literal
- •Operators and punctuators
- •Pre-processing directives
- •Conditional compilation symbols
- •Pre-processing expressions
- •Declaration directives
- •Conditional compilation directives
- •Diagnostic directives
- •Region control
- •Line directives
- •Pragma directives
- •Basic concepts
- •Application startup
- •Application termination
- •Declarations
- •Members
- •Namespace members
- •Struct members
- •Enumeration members
- •Class members
- •Interface members
- •Array members
- •Delegate members
- •Member access
- •Declared accessibility
- •Accessibility domains
- •Protected access for instance members
- •Accessibility constraints
- •Signatures and overloading
- •Scopes
- •Name hiding
- •Hiding through nesting
- •Hiding through inheritance
- •Namespace and type names
- •Unqualified name
- •Fully qualified names
- •Automatic memory management
- •Execution order
- •Types
- •Value types
- •The System.ValueType type
- •Default constructors
- •Struct types
- •Simple types
- •Integral types
- •Floating point types
- •The decimal type
- •The bool type
- •Enumeration types
- •Reference types
- •Class types
- •The object type
- •The string type
- •Interface types
- •Array types
- •Delegate types
- •Boxing and unboxing
- •Boxing conversions
- •Unboxing conversions
- •Variables
- •Variable categories
- •Static variables
- •Instance variables
- •Instance variables in classes
- •Instance variables in structs
- •Array elements
- •Value parameters
- •Reference parameters
- •Output parameters
- •Local variables
- •Default values
- •Definite assignment
- •Initially assigned variables
- •Initially unassigned variables
- •Precise rules for determining definite assignment
- •General rules for statements
- •Block statements, checked, and unchecked statements
- •Expression statements
- •Declaration statements
- •If statements
- •Switch statements
- •While statements
- •Do statements
- •For statements
- •Break, continue, and goto statements
- •Throw statements
- •Return statements
- •Try-catch statements
- •Try-finally statements
- •Try-catch-finally statements
- •Foreach statements
- •Using statements
- •Lock statements
- •General rules for simple expressions
- •General rules for expressions with embedded expressions
- •Invocation expressions and object creation expressions
- •Simple assignment expressions
- •&& expressions
- •|| expressions
- •! expressions
- •?: expressions
- •Anonymous method expressions
- •Yield statements
- •Variable references
- •Atomicity of variable references
- •Conversions
- •Implicit conversions
- •Identity conversion
- •Implicit numeric conversions
- •Implicit enumeration conversions
- •Implicit reference conversions
- •Boxing conversions
- •Implicit type parameter conversions
- •Implicit constant expression conversions
- •User-defined implicit conversions
- •Explicit conversions
- •Explicit numeric conversions
- •Explicit enumeration conversions
- •Explicit reference conversions
- •Unboxing conversions
- •User-defined explicit conversions
- •Standard conversions
- •Standard implicit conversions
- •Standard explicit conversions
- •User-defined conversions
- •Permitted user-defined conversions
- •Evaluation of user-defined conversions
- •User-defined implicit conversions
- •User-defined explicit conversions
- •Anonymous method conversions
- •Method group conversions
- •Expressions
- •Expression classifications
- •Values of expressions
- •Operators
- •Operator precedence and associativity
- •Operator overloading
- •Unary operator overload resolution
- •Binary operator overload resolution
- •Candidate user-defined operators
- •Numeric promotions
- •Unary numeric promotions
- •Binary numeric promotions
- •Member lookup
- •Base types
- •Function members
- •Argument lists
- •Overload resolution
- •Applicable function member
- •Better function member
- •Better conversion
- •Function member invocation
- •Invocations on boxed instances
- •Primary expressions
- •Literals
- •Simple names
- •Invariant meaning in blocks
- •Parenthesized expressions
- •Member access
- •Identical simple names and type names
- •Invocation expressions
- •Method invocations
- •Delegate invocations
- •Element access
- •Array access
- •Indexer access
- •This access
- •Base access
- •Postfix increment and decrement operators
- •The new operator
- •Object creation expressions
- •Array creation expressions
- •Delegate creation expressions
- •The typeof operator
- •The checked and unchecked operators
- •Default value expression
- •Anonymous methods
- •Anonymous method signatures
- •Anonymous method blocks
- •Outer variables
- •Captured outer variables
- •Instantiation of local variables
- •Anonymous method evaluation
- •Implementation example
- •Unary expressions
- •Unary plus operator
- •Unary minus operator
- •Logical negation operator
- •Bitwise complement operator
- •Prefix increment and decrement operators
- •Cast expressions
- •Arithmetic operators
- •Multiplication operator
- •Division operator
- •Remainder operator
- •Addition operator
- •Subtraction operator
- •Shift operators
- •Relational and type-testing operators
- •Integer comparison operators
- •Floating-point comparison operators
- •Decimal comparison operators
- •Boolean equality operators
- •Enumeration comparison operators
- •Reference type equality operators
- •String equality operators
- •Delegate equality operators
- •The is operator
- •The as operator
- •Logical operators
- •Integer logical operators
- •Enumeration logical operators
- •Boolean logical operators
- •Conditional logical operators
- •Boolean conditional logical operators
- •User-defined conditional logical operators
- •Conditional operator
- •Assignment operators
- •Simple assignment
- •Compound assignment
- •Event assignment
- •Expression
- •Constant expressions
- •Boolean expressions
- •Statements
- •End points and reachability
- •Blocks
- •Statement lists
- •The empty statement
- •Labeled statements
- •Declaration statements
- •Local variable declarations
- •Local constant declarations
- •Expression statements
- •Selection statements
- •The if statement
- •The switch statement
- •Iteration statements
- •The while statement
- •The do statement
- •The for statement
- •The foreach statement
- •Jump statements
- •The break statement
- •The continue statement
- •The goto statement
- •The return statement
- •The throw statement
- •The try statement
- •The checked and unchecked statements
- •The lock statement
- •The using statement
- •The yield statement
- •Namespaces
- •Compilation units
- •Namespace declarations
- •Extern alias directives
- •Using directives
- •Using alias directives
- •Using namespace directives
- •Namespace members
- •Type declarations
- •Qualified alias member
- •Classes
- •Class declarations
- •Class modifiers
- •Abstract classes
- •Sealed classes
- •Static classes
- •Class base specification
- •Base classes
- •Interface implementations
- •Class body
- •Partial declarations
- •Class members
- •Inheritance
- •The new modifier
- •Access modifiers
- •Constituent types
- •Static and instance members
- •Nested types
- •Fully qualified name
- •Declared accessibility
- •Hiding
- •this access
- •Reserved member names
- •Member names reserved for properties
- •Member names reserved for events
- •Member names reserved for indexers
- •Member names reserved for destructors
- •Constants
- •Fields
- •Static and instance fields
- •Readonly fields
- •Using static readonly fields for constants
- •Versioning of constants and static readonly fields
- •Volatile fields
- •Field initialization
- •Variable initializers
- •Static field initialization
- •Instance field initialization
- •Methods
- •Method parameters
- •Value parameters
- •Reference parameters
- •Output parameters
- •Parameter arrays
- •Static and instance methods
- •Virtual methods
- •Override methods
- •Sealed methods
- •Abstract methods
- •External methods
- •Method body
- •Method overloading
- •Properties
- •Static and instance properties
- •Accessors
- •Virtual, sealed, override, and abstract accessors
- •Events
- •Field-like events
- •Event accessors
- •Static and instance events
- •Virtual, sealed, override, and abstract accessors
- •Indexers
- •Indexer overloading
- •Operators
- •Unary operators
- •Binary operators
- •Conversion operators
- •Instance constructors
- •Constructor initializers
- •Instance variable initializers
- •Constructor execution
- •Default constructors
- •Private constructors
- •Optional instance constructor parameters
- •Static constructors
- •Destructors
- •Structs
- •Struct declarations
- •Struct modifiers
- •Struct interfaces
- •Struct body
- •Struct members
- •Class and struct differences
- •Value semantics
- •Inheritance
- •Assignment
- •Default values
- •Boxing and unboxing
- •Meaning of this
- •Field initializers
- •Constructors
- •Destructors
- •Static constructors
- •Struct examples
- •Database integer type
- •Database boolean type
- •Arrays
- •Array types
- •The System.Array type
- •Array creation
- •Array element access
- •Array members
- •Array covariance
- •Arrays and the generic IList interface
- •Array initializers
- •Interfaces
- •Interface declarations
- •Interface modifiers
- •Base interfaces
- •Interface body
- •Interface members
- •Interface methods
- •Interface properties
- •Interface events
- •Interface indexers
- •Interface member access
- •Fully qualified interface member names
- •Interface implementations
- •Explicit interface member implementations
- •Interface mapping
- •Interface implementation inheritance
- •Interface re-implementation
- •Abstract classes and interfaces
- •Enums
- •Enum declarations
- •Enum modifiers
- •Enum members
- •The System.Enum type
- •Enum values and operations
- •Delegates
- •Delegate declarations
- •Delegate instantiation
- •Delegate invocation
- •Exceptions
- •Causes of exceptions
- •The System.Exception class
- •How exceptions are handled
- •Common Exception Classes
- •Attributes
- •Attribute classes
- •Attribute usage
- •Positional and named parameters
- •Attribute parameter types
- •Attribute specification
- •Attribute instances
- •Compilation of an attribute
- •Run-time retrieval of an attribute instance
- •Reserved attributes
- •The AttributeUsage attribute
- •The Conditional attribute
- •Conditional Methods
- •Conditional Attribute Classes
- •The Obsolete attribute
- •Unsafe code
- •Unsafe contexts
- •Pointer types
- •Fixed and moveable variables
- •Pointer conversions
- •Pointers in expressions
- •Pointer indirection
- •Pointer member access
- •Pointer element access
- •The address-of operator
- •Pointer increment and decrement
- •Pointer arithmetic
- •Pointer comparison
- •The sizeof operator
- •The fixed statement
- •Stack allocation
- •Dynamic memory allocation
- •Generics
- •Generic class declarations
- •Type parameters
- •The instance type
- •Members of generic classes
- •Static fields in generic classes
- •Static constructors in generic classes
- •Accessing protected members
- •Overloading in generic classes
- •Parameter array methods and type parameters
- •Overriding and generic classes
- •Operators in generic classes
- •Nested types in generic classes
- •Generic struct declarations
- •Generic interface declarations
- •Uniqueness of implemented interfaces
- •Explicit interface member implementations
- •Generic delegate declarations
- •Constructed types
- •Type arguments
- •Open and closed types
- •Base classes and interfaces of a constructed type
- •Members of a constructed type
- •Accessibility of a constructed type
- •Conversions
- •Using alias directives
- •Generic methods
- •Generic method signatures
- •Virtual generic methods
- •Calling generic methods
- •Inference of type arguments
- •Using a generic method with a delegate
- •Constraints
- •Satisfying constraints
- •Member lookup on type parameters
- •Type parameters and boxing
- •Conversions involving type parameters
- •Iterators
- •Iterator blocks
- •Enumerator interfaces
- •Enumerable interfaces
- •Yield type
- •This access
- •Enumerator objects
- •The MoveNext method
- •The Current property
- •The Dispose method
- •Enumerable objects
- •The GetEnumerator method
- •Implementation example
- •Lexical grammar
- •Line terminators
- •White space
- •Comments
- •Unicode character escape sequences
- •Identifiers
- •Keywords
- •Literals
- •Operators and punctuators
- •Pre-processing directives
- •Syntactic grammar
- •Basic concepts
- •Types
- •Expressions
- •Statements
- •Classes
- •Structs
- •Arrays
- •Interfaces
- •Enums
- •Delegates
- •Attributes
- •Generics
- •Grammar extensions for unsafe code
- •Undefined behavior
- •Implementation-defined behavior
- •Unspecified behavior
- •Other Issues
- •Capitalization styles
- •Pascal casing
- •Camel casing
- •All uppercase
- •Capitalization summary
- •Word choice
- •Namespaces
- •Classes
- •Interfaces
- •Enums
- •Static fields
- •Parameters
- •Methods
- •Properties
- •Events
- •Case sensitivity
- •Avoiding type name confusion
- •Documentation Comments
- •Introduction
- •Recommended tags
- •<code>
- •<example>
- •<exception>
- •<list>
- •<para>
- •<param>
- •<paramref>
- •<permission>
- •<remarks>
- •<returns>
- •<seealso>
- •<summary>
- •<value>
- •Processing the documentation file
- •ID string format
- •ID string examples
- •An example
- •C# source code
- •Resulting XML
C# LANGUAGE SPECIFICATION
1end example]
2Separate anonymous methods can capture the same instance of an outer variable. [Example: In the following
3code:
4using System;
5delegate void Setter(int value);
6delegate int Getter();
7class Test
8{
9 |
static void Main() { |
10 |
int x = 0; |
11 |
Setter s = delegate(int value) { x = value; }; |
12 |
Getter g = delegate { return x; }; |
13 |
s(5); |
14 |
Console.WriteLine(g()); |
15 |
s(10); |
16 |
Console.WriteLine(g()); |
17}
18}
19the two anonymous methods capture the same instance of the local variable x, and they can thus
20“communicate” through that variable. The output of the example is:
215
2210
23end example]
2414.5.14.4 Anonymous method evaluation
25The run-time evaluation of an anonymous-method-expression produces a delegate instance which references
26the anonymous method and the (possibly empty) set of captured outer variables that are active at the time of
27the evaluation. When a delegate resulting from an anonymous-method-expression is invoked, the body of the
28anonymous method is executed. The code in the body is executed using the set of captured outer variables
29referenced by the delegate.
30The invocation list of a delegate produced from an anonymous-method-expression contains a single entry.
31The exact target object and target method of the delegate are unspecified. In particular, it is unspecified
32whether the target object of the delegate is null, the this value of the enclosing function member, or some
33other object.
34Evaluation of sematically identical anonymous-method-expressions with the same (possibly empty) set of
35captured outer variable instances is permitted (but not required) to return the same delegate instance. The
36term “sematically identical” is used here to mean that execution of the anonymous methods will, in all cases,
37produce the same effects given the same arguments. [Example: This rule permits code such as the following
38to be optimized.
39delegate double Function(double x);
40class Test
41{
42 |
static double[] Apply(double[] vector, Function func) { |
43 |
double[] result = new double[vector.Length]; |
44 |
foreach (int i = 0; i < vector.Length; i++) { |
45 |
result[i] = func(vector[i]); |
46 |
} |
47 |
return result; |
48 |
} |
184
Chapter 14 Expressions
1 |
static void F(double[] vx, double[] vy) { |
2 |
double[] rx = Apply(vx, delegate(double x) { |
3 |
return Math.Sin(x); |
4 |
}); |
5 |
double[] ry = Apply(vy, delegate(double y) { |
6 |
return Math.Sin(y); |
7 |
}); |
8 |
… |
9}
10}
11Since the two anonymous method delegates have the same (empty) set of captured outer variables, and since
12the anonymous methods are semantically identical, the compiler is permitted to have the delegates refer to
13the same target method. Indeed, the compiler is permitted to return the very same delegate instance from
14both anonymous method expressions.
15end example]
1614.5.14.5 Implementation example
17[Note: This subclause describes a possible implementation of anonymous methods in terms of standard
18C# constructs. The implementation described here is by no means a mandated implementation, nor is it the
19only one possible.
20The remainder of this subclause gives several examples of code that contains anonymous methods with
21different characteristics. For each example, a corresponding translation to code that uses only standard C#
22constructs is provided. In the examples, the identifier D is assumed to represent the following delegate type:
23public delegate void D();
24The simplest form of an anonymous method is one that captures no outer variables:
25class Test
26{
27 |
static |
void F() { |
28 |
D d |
= delegate { Console.WriteLine("test"); }; |
29}
30}
31This can be translated to a delegate instantiation that references a compiler-generated static method in which
32the code of the anonymous method is placed:
33class Test
34{
35 |
static |
void F() { |
36 |
D d = new D(__Method1); |
|
37 |
} |
|
38 |
static void __Method1() { |
|
39 |
Console.WriteLine("test"); |
40}
41}
42In the following example, the anonymous method references instance members of this:
43class Test
44{
45 |
int x; |
46 |
void F() { |
47 |
D d = delegate { Console.WriteLine(x); }; |
48}
49}
50This can be translated to a compiler-generated instance method containing the code of the anonymous
51method:
52class Test
53{
54 |
int x; |
185
|
C# LANGUAGE SPECIFICATION |
1 |
void F() { |
2 |
D d = new D(__Method1); |
3 |
} |
4 |
void __Method1() { |
5 |
Console.WriteLine(x); |
6}
7}
8In this example, the anonymous method captures a local variable:
9class Test
10{
11 |
void F() { |
12 |
int y = 123; |
13 |
D d = delegate { Console.WriteLine(y); }; |
14}
15}
16The lifetime of the local variable shall now be extended to at least the lifetime of the anonymous method
17delegate. This can be achieved by “lifting” the local variable into a field of a compiler-generated class.
18Instantiation of the local variable (§14.5.14.3.2) then corresponds to creating an instance of the compiler-
19generated class, and accessing the local variable corresponds to accessing a field in the instance of the
20compiler-generated class. Furthermore, the anonymous method becomes an instance method of the
21compiler-generated class:
22class Test
23{
24 |
void F() { |
25 |
__Locals1 __locals1 = new __Locals1(); |
26 |
__locals1.y = 123; |
27 |
D d = new D(__locals1.__Method1); |
28 |
} |
29 |
class __Locals1 |
30 |
{ |
31 |
public int y; |
32 |
public void __Method1() { |
33 |
Console.WriteLine(y); |
34 |
} |
35}
36}
37Finally, the following anonymous method captures this as well as two local variables with different
38lifetimes:
39class Test
40{
41 |
int x; |
42 |
void F() { |
43 |
int y = 123; |
44 |
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) { |
45 |
int z = i * 2; |
46 |
D d = delegate { Console.WriteLine(x + y + z); }; |
47 |
} |
48}
49}
50Here, a compiler-generated class is created for each statement block in which locals are captured such that
51the locals in the different blocks can have independent lifetimes. An instance of __Locals2, the compiler-
52generated class for the inner statement block, contains the local variable z and a field that references an
53instance of __Locals1. An instance of __Locals1, the compiler-generated class for the outer statement
54block, contains the local variable y and a field that references this of the enclosing function member. With
55these data structures it is possible to reach all captured outer variables through an instance of __Locals2,
56and the code of the anonymous method can thus be implemented as an instance method of that class.
186