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maximum number of methods supported in C# class

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  • V vytheese

    Just curiosity ;) , Did anyone have idea of how many methods a single C# class can allow ? I heard, it is compiler dependent If true, what is the maximum no allowed by the standard compiler ? Thanks, Vythees

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    leppie
    wrote on last edited by
    #7

    Seeing Assembly metatokens takes the following form: 00 000000, where the former is the type, and the latter is the code, I would say the maximum number of methoddef's in an assembly would be limited to 24-bits, iow 16.7 million. Dunno if there is a limitation on a classes though.

    **

    xacc.ide-0.2.0.75 - now with C# 3.5 support and Navigation Bar!

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    • V vytheese

      Just curiosity ;) , Did anyone have idea of how many methods a single C# class can allow ? I heard, it is compiler dependent If true, what is the maximum no allowed by the standard compiler ? Thanks, Vythees

      L Offline
      L Offline
      Luc Pattyn
      wrote on last edited by
      #8

      when in trouble, switch to Win64. :)

      Luc Pattyn [My Articles] [Forum Guidelines]

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      • C Colin Angus Mackay

        vytheeswaran wrote:

        Did anyone have idea of how many methods a single C# class can allow ?

        I think that if you ever reached that limit then you might want to seriously reconsider your design.


        Upcoming events: * Glasgow: Mock Objects, SQL Server CLR Integration, Reporting Services, db4o, Dependency Injection with Spring ... "I wouldn't say boo to a goose. I'm not a coward, I just realise that it would be largely pointless." Ready to Give up - Your help will be much appreciated. My website

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        led mike
        wrote on last edited by
        #9

        Colin Angus Mackay wrote:

        I think that if you ever reached that limit then you might want to seriously reconsider your design.

        or the switch/case limit or the if/elseif limit or the .... or if none of that makes sense to you try this[^]

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        • L leppie

          Seeing Assembly metatokens takes the following form: 00 000000, where the former is the type, and the latter is the code, I would say the maximum number of methoddef's in an assembly would be limited to 24-bits, iow 16.7 million. Dunno if there is a limitation on a classes though.

          **

          xacc.ide-0.2.0.75 - now with C# 3.5 support and Navigation Bar!

          **

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          vytheese
          wrote on last edited by
          #10

          A nice research. Thanks, Vythees

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          • V vytheese

            Thanks for Info, But I read in one article that E-Bay once hits the compiler limit in max number of methods in single class. Thanks, Vythees

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            Dan Neely
            wrote on last edited by
            #11

            IIRC ebay is running its servers using c++ and ISAPI, not .net.

            -- You have to explain to them [VB coders] what you mean by "typed". their first response is likely to be something like, "Of course my code is typed. Do you think i magically project it onto the screen with the power of my mind?" --- John Simmons / outlaw programmer

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            • L Luc Pattyn

              when in trouble, switch to Win64. :)

              Luc Pattyn [My Articles] [Forum Guidelines]

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              vytheese
              wrote on last edited by
              #12

              Fiction : :) I may end up with Portablity issues with 32bit cousins. Not an real issue, but just to know the number. :wtf: Thanks, Vythees

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              • D Dan Neely

                IIRC ebay is running its servers using c++ and ISAPI, not .net.

                -- You have to explain to them [VB coders] what you mean by "typed". their first response is likely to be something like, "Of course my code is typed. Do you think i magically project it onto the screen with the power of my mind?" --- John Simmons / outlaw programmer

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                vytheese
                wrote on last edited by
                #13

                I agree, I think then there should be the same constraint exist in .NET class also. Thanks, Vythees

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                • L led mike

                  Colin Angus Mackay wrote:

                  I think that if you ever reached that limit then you might want to seriously reconsider your design.

                  or the switch/case limit or the if/elseif limit or the .... or if none of that makes sense to you try this[^]

                  V Offline
                  V Offline
                  vytheese
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #14

                  Oh God, thats classic link. :) Thanks, Vythees

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                  • L leppie

                    Seeing Assembly metatokens takes the following form: 00 000000, where the former is the type, and the latter is the code, I would say the maximum number of methoddef's in an assembly would be limited to 24-bits, iow 16.7 million. Dunno if there is a limitation on a classes though.

                    **

                    xacc.ide-0.2.0.75 - now with C# 3.5 support and Navigation Bar!

                    **

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                    Ed Poore
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #15

                    There is a limit, I remember someone a while ago (I've got a feeling in this forum) hit a limit on the number of fields in anycase that they could include in a class.  Buggered if I can remember where it was or what it was :sigh:


                    My Blog

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                    • V vytheese

                      A nice research. Thanks, Vythees

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                      leppie
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #16

                      Not research, I know it from working with the spec :) And those values can be accessed from .NET 2 (nowadays).

                      **

                      xacc.ide-0.2.0.75 - now with C# 3.5 support and Navigation Bar!

                      **

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                      • E Ed Poore

                        There is a limit, I remember someone a while ago (I've got a feeling in this forum) hit a limit on the number of fields in anycase that they could include in a class.  Buggered if I can remember where it was or what it was :sigh:


                        My Blog

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                        leppie
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #17

                        Maybe you are thinking about the parameter limit, that is 16383/4.

                        **

                        xacc.ide-0.2.0.75 - now with C# 3.5 support and Navigation Bar!

                        **

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                        • L leppie

                          Maybe you are thinking about the parameter limit, that is 16383/4.

                          **

                          xacc.ide-0.2.0.75 - now with C# 3.5 support and Navigation Bar!

                          **

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                          Ed Poore
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #18

                          No, I'm pretty sure that someone managed to hit a limit on the number of fields that could be contained in a class.  I'll do some digging.


                          My Blog

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                          • V vytheese

                            Just curiosity ;) , Did anyone have idea of how many methods a single C# class can allow ? I heard, it is compiler dependent If true, what is the maximum no allowed by the standard compiler ? Thanks, Vythees

                            S Offline
                            S Offline
                            Sean Michael Murphy
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #19

                            I let this run for an hour to get to 5000 before I gave up. Someone with more CPU and physical RAM than I have should run it and see where it ends...

                            using System;
                            using System.Collections.Generic;
                            using System.Text;
                            using System.CodeDom.Compiler;
                               
                            namespace MethodCountLimitFinder {
                               class Program {
                                  static void Main(string[] args) {
                                     Int32 methodCount = 1;
                                     Microsoft.CSharp.CSharpCodeProvider cscp = new Microsoft.CSharp.CSharpCodeProvider();
                                     ICodeCompiler icc = cscp.CreateCompiler();
                               
                                     CompilerParameters cp = new CompilerParameters();
                                     cp.GenerateExecutable = false;
                                     cp.GenerateInMemory = true;
                               
                                     CompilerResults cr = null;
                                     string pre = "using System;" + Environment.NewLine +
                                              Environment.NewLine +
                                              "namespace Tester {" + Environment.NewLine +
                                              " class Test {" + Environment.NewLine;
                                     string post = " }" + Environment.NewLine +
                                              "}";
                                     string inner = string.Empty;
                               
                                     while (true) {
                                        inner += " public Int32 Method" + methodCount.ToString() + "() {" + Environment.NewLine +
                                                 " return 42;" + Environment.NewLine +
                                                 " }" + Envi

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                            • S Sean Michael Murphy

                              I let this run for an hour to get to 5000 before I gave up. Someone with more CPU and physical RAM than I have should run it and see where it ends...

                              using System;
                              using System.Collections.Generic;
                              using System.Text;
                              using System.CodeDom.Compiler;
                                 
                              namespace MethodCountLimitFinder {
                                 class Program {
                                    static void Main(string[] args) {
                                       Int32 methodCount = 1;
                                       Microsoft.CSharp.CSharpCodeProvider cscp = new Microsoft.CSharp.CSharpCodeProvider();
                                       ICodeCompiler icc = cscp.CreateCompiler();
                                 
                                       CompilerParameters cp = new CompilerParameters();
                                       cp.GenerateExecutable = false;
                                       cp.GenerateInMemory = true;
                                 
                                       CompilerResults cr = null;
                                       string pre = "using System;" + Environment.NewLine +
                                                Environment.NewLine +
                                                "namespace Tester {" + Environment.NewLine +
                                                " class Test {" + Environment.NewLine;
                                       string post = " }" + Environment.NewLine +
                                                "}";
                                       string inner = string.Empty;
                                 
                                       while (true) {
                                          inner += " public Int32 Method" + methodCount.ToString() + "() {" + Environment.NewLine +
                                                   " return 42;" + Environment.NewLine +
                                                   " }" + Envi

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                              DavidNohejl
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #20

                              Sean Michael Murphy wrote:

                              while (true) { inner += " public Int32 Method" + methodCount.ToString() + "() {" + Environment.NewLine + " return 42;" + Environment.NewLine + " }" + Environment.NewLine; cr = icc.CompileAssemblyFromSource(cp, pre + inner + post); if (cr.Errors.Count > 0) break; methodCount++; if (methodCount % 10 == 0) System.Console.WriteLine(methodCount.ToString()); }

                              Sean Michael Murphy wrote:

                              Someone with more CPU and physical RAM than I have should run it and see where it ends...

                              No wonder, always use StringBuilder for string concatenation in a loop.


                              "Throughout human history, we have been dependent on machines to survive. Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony. " - Morpheus "Real men use mspaint for writing code and notepad for designing graphics." - Anna-Jayne Metcalfe

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                              • V vytheese

                                I agree, I think then there should be the same constraint exist in .NET class also. Thanks, Vythees

                                D Offline
                                D Offline
                                Dan Neely
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #21

                                Even assuming there is a constraint, you're talking about 2 totally different languages so why should they be the same?

                                -- You have to explain to them [VB coders] what you mean by "typed". their first response is likely to be something like, "Of course my code is typed. Do you think i magically project it onto the screen with the power of my mind?" --- John Simmons / outlaw programmer

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • D DavidNohejl

                                  Sean Michael Murphy wrote:

                                  while (true) { inner += " public Int32 Method" + methodCount.ToString() + "() {" + Environment.NewLine + " return 42;" + Environment.NewLine + " }" + Environment.NewLine; cr = icc.CompileAssemblyFromSource(cp, pre + inner + post); if (cr.Errors.Count > 0) break; methodCount++; if (methodCount % 10 == 0) System.Console.WriteLine(methodCount.ToString()); }

                                  Sean Michael Murphy wrote:

                                  Someone with more CPU and physical RAM than I have should run it and see where it ends...

                                  No wonder, always use StringBuilder for string concatenation in a loop.


                                  "Throughout human history, we have been dependent on machines to survive. Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony. " - Morpheus "Real men use mspaint for writing code and notepad for designing graphics." - Anna-Jayne Metcalfe

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                                  M Offline
                                  Martin 0
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #22

                                  Cannot been said to often! Good answere!

                                  P 1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • M Martin 0

                                    Cannot been said to often! Good answere!

                                    P Offline
                                    P Offline
                                    PIEBALDconsult
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #23

                                    Well it can be said too often, but it's appropriate here.

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                                    • D DavidNohejl

                                      Sean Michael Murphy wrote:

                                      while (true) { inner += " public Int32 Method" + methodCount.ToString() + "() {" + Environment.NewLine + " return 42;" + Environment.NewLine + " }" + Environment.NewLine; cr = icc.CompileAssemblyFromSource(cp, pre + inner + post); if (cr.Errors.Count > 0) break; methodCount++; if (methodCount % 10 == 0) System.Console.WriteLine(methodCount.ToString()); }

                                      Sean Michael Murphy wrote:

                                      Someone with more CPU and physical RAM than I have should run it and see where it ends...

                                      No wonder, always use StringBuilder for string concatenation in a loop.


                                      "Throughout human history, we have been dependent on machines to survive. Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony. " - Morpheus "Real men use mspaint for writing code and notepad for designing graphics." - Anna-Jayne Metcalfe

                                      S Offline
                                      S Offline
                                      Sean Michael Murphy
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #24

                                      dnh wrote:

                                      No wonder, always use StringBuilder for string concatenation in a loop.

                                      Hmmm. Interesting. When I originally undertook to code this snippet to try to figure an answer to this guys question, optimization was pretty far from my mind. I mean, I cranked the original bit of code out in 15 minutes (or so) and had originally coded it so the methods would be recreated every time. I took another 5 minutes and optimized it so that only 1 method (the new one) would have to be concatenated to the "guts", which was then stuck in between the fixed "header" and "footer" of the class. It ran slowly, but I assumed that most of the overhead was in the actual code compilation (compiling classes of 15000 lines), and not a little bit of string concatenation. So I've re-written it using StringBuilder and timed both versions for 500 iterations. The original code did 500 iterations on my PC in 161.5222 seconds. This version:

                                      StringBuilder inner = new StringBuilder();
                                       
                                      DateTime startTime = DateTime.Now;
                                         
                                      for (Int32 i = 0; i < 500; i++) {
                                         inner.Append(" public Int32 Method" + methodCount.ToString() + "() {" + Environment.NewLine +
                                                      " return 42;" + Environment.NewLine +
                                                      " }" + Environment.NewLine);
                                       
                                         StringBuilder code = new StringBuilder(pre);
                                         code.Append(inner);
                                         code.Append(post);
                                         cr = icc.CompileAssemblyFromSource(cp, code.ToString());
                                       
                                         if (cr.Errors.Count > 0)
                                            break;
                                       
                                         methodCount++;
                                       
                                         if (methodCount % 10 == 0)
                                            System.Console.WriteLine(methodCount.ToString());
                                      }
                                       
                                      TimeSpan ts = DateTime.Now - startTime;
                                       
                                      System.Console.WriteLine(ts.TotalSeconds);

                                      did it in 160.111. Much less that 1% slower. Not a string concatenation to be found, except for the line joins. Anything to add? Thanks. Sean

                                      D V 2 Replies Last reply
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                                      • S Sean Michael Murphy

                                        dnh wrote:

                                        No wonder, always use StringBuilder for string concatenation in a loop.

                                        Hmmm. Interesting. When I originally undertook to code this snippet to try to figure an answer to this guys question, optimization was pretty far from my mind. I mean, I cranked the original bit of code out in 15 minutes (or so) and had originally coded it so the methods would be recreated every time. I took another 5 minutes and optimized it so that only 1 method (the new one) would have to be concatenated to the "guts", which was then stuck in between the fixed "header" and "footer" of the class. It ran slowly, but I assumed that most of the overhead was in the actual code compilation (compiling classes of 15000 lines), and not a little bit of string concatenation. So I've re-written it using StringBuilder and timed both versions for 500 iterations. The original code did 500 iterations on my PC in 161.5222 seconds. This version:

                                        StringBuilder inner = new StringBuilder();
                                         
                                        DateTime startTime = DateTime.Now;
                                           
                                        for (Int32 i = 0; i < 500; i++) {
                                           inner.Append(" public Int32 Method" + methodCount.ToString() + "() {" + Environment.NewLine +
                                                        " return 42;" + Environment.NewLine +
                                                        " }" + Environment.NewLine);
                                         
                                           StringBuilder code = new StringBuilder(pre);
                                           code.Append(inner);
                                           code.Append(post);
                                           cr = icc.CompileAssemblyFromSource(cp, code.ToString());
                                         
                                           if (cr.Errors.Count > 0)
                                              break;
                                         
                                           methodCount++;
                                         
                                           if (methodCount % 10 == 0)
                                              System.Console.WriteLine(methodCount.ToString());
                                        }
                                         
                                        TimeSpan ts = DateTime.Now - startTime;
                                         
                                        System.Console.WriteLine(ts.TotalSeconds);

                                        did it in 160.111. Much less that 1% slower. Not a string concatenation to be found, except for the line joins. Anything to add? Thanks. Sean

                                        D Offline
                                        D Offline
                                        DavidNohejl
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #25

                                        Sean Michael Murphy wrote:

                                        Anything to add?

                                        I'd agree that most time takes compilation, but the thing about string concatenation with + is that it's -unlike compilation - completely unnecessary. And I don't think that using StringBuilder for concatenating strings in big loops is optimalization - I think it's something you should do without thinking. btw you're still allocating 7 or so strings in

                                        inner.Append("      public Int32 Method" + methodCount.ToString() + "() {" + Environment.NewLine +
                                                        "         return 42;" + Environment.NewLine +
                                                        "      }" + Environment.NewLine);
                                        

                                        every cycle, that's 3500 unnecessary allocations :) Anyway, cool way to check for number of methods limit indeed.


                                        "Throughout human history, we have been dependent on machines to survive. Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony. " - Morpheus "Real men use mspaint for writing code and notepad for designing graphics." - Anna-Jayne Metcalfe

                                        P 1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • S Sean Michael Murphy

                                          dnh wrote:

                                          No wonder, always use StringBuilder for string concatenation in a loop.

                                          Hmmm. Interesting. When I originally undertook to code this snippet to try to figure an answer to this guys question, optimization was pretty far from my mind. I mean, I cranked the original bit of code out in 15 minutes (or so) and had originally coded it so the methods would be recreated every time. I took another 5 minutes and optimized it so that only 1 method (the new one) would have to be concatenated to the "guts", which was then stuck in between the fixed "header" and "footer" of the class. It ran slowly, but I assumed that most of the overhead was in the actual code compilation (compiling classes of 15000 lines), and not a little bit of string concatenation. So I've re-written it using StringBuilder and timed both versions for 500 iterations. The original code did 500 iterations on my PC in 161.5222 seconds. This version:

                                          StringBuilder inner = new StringBuilder();
                                           
                                          DateTime startTime = DateTime.Now;
                                             
                                          for (Int32 i = 0; i < 500; i++) {
                                             inner.Append(" public Int32 Method" + methodCount.ToString() + "() {" + Environment.NewLine +
                                                          " return 42;" + Environment.NewLine +
                                                          " }" + Environment.NewLine);
                                           
                                             StringBuilder code = new StringBuilder(pre);
                                             code.Append(inner);
                                             code.Append(post);
                                             cr = icc.CompileAssemblyFromSource(cp, code.ToString());
                                           
                                             if (cr.Errors.Count > 0)
                                                break;
                                           
                                             methodCount++;
                                           
                                             if (methodCount % 10 == 0)
                                                System.Console.WriteLine(methodCount.ToString());
                                          }
                                           
                                          TimeSpan ts = DateTime.Now - startTime;
                                           
                                          System.Console.WriteLine(ts.TotalSeconds);

                                          did it in 160.111. Much less that 1% slower. Not a string concatenation to be found, except for the line joins. Anything to add? Thanks. Sean

                                          V Offline
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                                          vytheese
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #26

                                          Hi, while( true) { do { inner.Append(" public Int32 Method" + methodCount.ToString() + "() {" + Environment.NewLine + " return 42;" + Environment.NewLine + " }" + Environment.NewLine); methodCount++; } while ((methodCount % 1000) != 0); cr = icc.CompileAssemblyFromSource(cp, pre + inner.ToString() + post); if (cr.Errors.Count > 0) break; System.Console.WriteLine(methodCount.ToString() + " Compiled successfuly ==> so not succed"); } System.Console.WriteLine(methodCount + " may be approximately to -1000 of method count"); I modified slightly your code as the above and executed, Its going on till 100000 ( above 1 lakh ), My machine got down, So I planned to run today night. Now I feeling, I shouldn't ask this question first of all ;) Thanks, Vythees -- modified at 5:24 Tuesday 3rd July, 2007 Thanks, Vythees

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