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  3. String or string?

String or string?

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  • L Lost User

    There is a tiny difference, remember? Classes are reference types while the aliases are made to appear like value types for convenience.

    The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
    This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
    "I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.

    L Offline
    L Offline
    Lost User
    wrote on last edited by
    #15

    Classes are reference types but Int32 is a struct

    L 1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • L Lost User

      Could it be that you are confusing this with Java? .Net never had primitive types. One of the most important differences when the Java guys still dismissed c# as a bad copy of Java.

      The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
      This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
      "I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.

      L Offline
      L Offline
      Lost User
      wrote on last edited by
      #16

      Quote:

      Could it be that you are confusing this with Java?

      No. I never studied Java. I probably was just confusing it with.....:confused:

      Get me coffee and no one gets hurt!

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      • P PIEBALDconsult

        Cornelius Henning wrote:

        I believe at some point in the past this was the case??

        Nope, never. It's just an alias.

        string
        Visual Studio .NET 2003
        The string type represents a string of Unicode characters. string is an alias for System.String in the .NET Framework.

        L Offline
        L Offline
        Lost User
        wrote on last edited by
        #17

        And now, is it important?

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        • R Richard Deeming

          Are you sure you're not thinking of Java? :confused: With .NET, there's no difference in behaviour between using the class name or the alias.


          "These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer

          F Offline
          F Offline
          Forogar
          wrote on last edited by
          #18

          That's the point I was making. It was just a style decision really.

          - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

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          • L Lost User

            Value types fundamentally act differently in MSIL as well so it's not just a cheat. `int` is a real value type, it's even (along with most built-in types) extra special in the sense that it's built into MSIL directly. `Int32` is not a reference type either. String is a reference type, but so is string, it's just not very noticeable since it's mostly immutable.

            L Offline
            L Offline
            Lost User
            wrote on last edited by
            #19

            Now it gets confusing. The MSDN does not mention any of this at first glance for the String class. They use string in their samples when they want to use it as a value type and describe how initializing a string with a literal leads to the generation of code that uses one of String's constructors in MISL.

            The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
            This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
            "I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.

            L 1 Reply Last reply
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            • L Lost User

              Now it gets confusing. The MSDN does not mention any of this at first glance for the String class. They use string in their samples when they want to use it as a value type and describe how initializing a string with a literal leads to the generation of code that uses one of String's constructors in MISL.

              The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
              This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
              "I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.

              L Offline
              L Offline
              Lost User
              wrote on last edited by
              #20

              Well it's built-in, so it's always going to be a bit odd. Still, you can tell it's not a value type by [cheating](http://ideone.com/v9xjcG), if it was actually a value type it should be impossible to change the original, but as this experiment shows it is only made "impossible" by the immutability.

              L 1 Reply Last reply
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              • L Lost User

                You mean like [this](http://ideone.com/zmqvAx) ?

                L Offline
                L Offline
                Lost User
                wrote on last edited by
                #21

                I must admit that i have never tried to do that. Classes are reference types, (many) aliases are treated like value types. Always worked for me. Long ago I read a book when taking a look at .Net 1.0 and never had a need to question this.

                The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
                This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
                "I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.

                R 1 Reply Last reply
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                • F Forogar

                  When writing my C# code I was in the habit of using string (all lowercase) for strings declarations, etc. and String (capitalized) for method calls such as String.Empty and String.Format just as a sort of aide memoir that I was calling an object method. As I started to create String extension methods I reviewed this habit of mine and decided this was a pointless differentiation and switched to just using string all the time. At the same time I decided that my using Int32 for methods such as Int32.TryParse and just int in declarations, etc. was also pointless and perhaps confusing to others and so switched to using int all the time instead. It all compiles to the same IL code anyway so it was just a matter of style really. What do you think?

                  - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

                  L Offline
                  L Offline
                  Lost User
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #22

                  This thread is getting me extremely confused :confused: Just kill it, PLEASE :-O :laugh:

                  Get me coffee and no one gets hurt!

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • L Lost User

                    Quote:

                    Could it be that you are confusing this with Java?

                    No. I never studied Java. I probably was just confusing it with.....:confused:

                    Get me coffee and no one gets hurt!

                    L Offline
                    L Offline
                    Lost User
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #23

                    .Net really never had primitive types, but down below I just heard that the line between the classes and the aliases as value types is not drawn as clearly as I believed.

                    The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
                    This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
                    "I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • I icemanind

                      I've always used the lowercase string when declaring a type, but I use the uppercase String when calling static methods. For example:

                      string myString = "Hello World!";
                      string anotherString = String.Format("{0}", "Hola!");

                      Microsoft seems to do the same thing, as seen in some of their examples, like here.

                      B Offline
                      B Offline
                      Bryian Tan
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #24

                      If the usage is correct, that make me think why the VS Intellisense still display "name can be simplified", "Show potential fixes", IDE0001 C# Name can be simplified. Isn't that "Show potential fixes" = there is a bug and here is the potential fix? After all VS is Microsoft product right? ;P ;P

                      Bryian Tan

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                      • L Lost User

                        Classes are reference types but Int32 is a struct

                        L Offline
                        L Offline
                        Lost User
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #25

                        That explains it. Then I'm right what String and string are concerned, but wrong about Int32 and int.

                        The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
                        This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
                        "I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.

                        R 1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • L Lost User

                          Well it's built-in, so it's always going to be a bit odd. Still, you can tell it's not a value type by [cheating](http://ideone.com/v9xjcG), if it was actually a value type it should be impossible to change the original, but as this experiment shows it is only made "impossible" by the immutability.

                          L Offline
                          L Offline
                          Lost User
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #26

                          I have just gotten the answer to this little riddle. Int32 is a struct, not a class, while String really is a class and string is just treated as a value type.

                          The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
                          This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
                          "I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.

                          J 1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • F Forogar

                            When writing my C# code I was in the habit of using string (all lowercase) for strings declarations, etc. and String (capitalized) for method calls such as String.Empty and String.Format just as a sort of aide memoir that I was calling an object method. As I started to create String extension methods I reviewed this habit of mine and decided this was a pointless differentiation and switched to just using string all the time. At the same time I decided that my using Int32 for methods such as Int32.TryParse and just int in declarations, etc. was also pointless and perhaps confusing to others and so switched to using int all the time instead. It all compiles to the same IL code anyway so it was just a matter of style really. What do you think?

                            - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

                            D Offline
                            D Offline
                            dandy72
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #27

                            Forogar wrote:

                            It all compiles to the same IL code anyway so it was just a matter of style really.

                            That's all that needs to be said, right?

                            Forogar wrote:

                            What do you think?

                            I think it's getting late on Friday afternoon and I'm already past the point where I can afford to waste the brain cells I'd need for something like this...

                            1 Reply Last reply
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                            • L Lost User

                              I have just gotten the answer to this little riddle. Int32 is a struct, not a class, while String really is a class and string is just treated as a value type.

                              The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
                              This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
                              "I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.

                              J Offline
                              J Offline
                              Jon McKee
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #28

                              It's not even that it's being treated like a value type. The reason it can accept literals like that is because of an implicit conversion operator.

                              public class ImplicitString
                              {
                              public string Value { get; private set; }
                              public ImplicitString(string x)
                              {
                              Value = x;
                              }

                              public static implicit operator ImplicitString(string x)
                              {
                                  return new ImplicitString(x);
                              }
                              

                              }

                              //Use
                              ImplicitString s = "Hello.";

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                              • F Forogar

                                When writing my C# code I was in the habit of using string (all lowercase) for strings declarations, etc. and String (capitalized) for method calls such as String.Empty and String.Format just as a sort of aide memoir that I was calling an object method. As I started to create String extension methods I reviewed this habit of mine and decided this was a pointless differentiation and switched to just using string all the time. At the same time I decided that my using Int32 for methods such as Int32.TryParse and just int in declarations, etc. was also pointless and perhaps confusing to others and so switched to using int all the time instead. It all compiles to the same IL code anyway so it was just a matter of style really. What do you think?

                                - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

                                B Offline
                                B Offline
                                Bryian Tan
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #29

                                Even though we use the String, Int32, etc... correctly per Microsoft website, in VS, Intellisense will display suggestion "name can be simplified", "Show potential fixes", IDE0001 C# Name can be simplified. Isn't that "Show potential fixes" = there is a bug and here is the potential fix? Why Microsoft didn't fix it to clear this confusion? After all VS is Microsoft product right? Maybe there is a reason behind it, and we all going to like it ;P ;P ;P

                                Bryian Tan

                                J 1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • L Lost User

                                  I must admit that i have never tried to do that. Classes are reference types, (many) aliases are treated like value types. Always worked for me. Long ago I read a book when taking a look at .Net 1.0 and never had a need to question this.

                                  The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
                                  This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
                                  "I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.

                                  R Offline
                                  R Offline
                                  Richard Deeming
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #30

                                  CDP1802 wrote:

                                  Classes are reference types, (many) aliases are treated like value types.

                                  Nope. There is absolutely no difference between using the type name (Int32) and the alias (int). They are exactly the same thing. They compile to the same IL.

                                  int x = new int();
                                  Int32 y = 42;
                                  Console.WriteLine($"{x}, {y}");
                                  // Output: 0, 42

                                  Java differentiates between the primitive types and their reference type equivalents. In .NET, there is no difference. It sounds like whoever wrote that book was confused, and managed to spread the confusion. :)


                                  "These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer

                                  L 1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • L Lost User

                                    That explains it. Then I'm right what String and string are concerned, but wrong about Int32 and int.

                                    The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
                                    This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
                                    "I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.

                                    R Offline
                                    R Offline
                                    Richard Deeming
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #31

                                    CDP1802 wrote:

                                    Then I'm right what String and string are concerned

                                    Nope again. :) String and string are exactly the same - an immutable reference type. The only reason you don't typically need to use new with a string is because the compiler has a deep knowledge of it. string.cs - Reference Source[^]


                                    "These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer

                                    L 1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • R Richard Deeming

                                      CDP1802 wrote:

                                      Classes are reference types, (many) aliases are treated like value types.

                                      Nope. There is absolutely no difference between using the type name (Int32) and the alias (int). They are exactly the same thing. They compile to the same IL.

                                      int x = new int();
                                      Int32 y = 42;
                                      Console.WriteLine($"{x}, {y}");
                                      // Output: 0, 42

                                      Java differentiates between the primitive types and their reference type equivalents. In .NET, there is no difference. It sounds like whoever wrote that book was confused, and managed to spread the confusion. :)


                                      "These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer

                                      L Offline
                                      L Offline
                                      Lost User
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #32

                                      We already got that sorted out, I think. Int32 is not a class, it's a struct. Now it makes sense and you are right. It makes no difference.

                                      The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
                                      This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
                                      "I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.

                                      P L 2 Replies Last reply
                                      0
                                      • R Richard Deeming

                                        CDP1802 wrote:

                                        Then I'm right what String and string are concerned

                                        Nope again. :) String and string are exactly the same - an immutable reference type. The only reason you don't typically need to use new with a string is because the compiler has a deep knowledge of it. string.cs - Reference Source[^]


                                        "These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer

                                        L Offline
                                        L Offline
                                        Lost User
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #33

                                        Drat! :-)

                                        The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
                                        This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a fucking golf cart.
                                        "I don't know, extraterrestrial?" "You mean like from space?" "No, from Canada." If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • F Forogar

                                          When writing my C# code I was in the habit of using string (all lowercase) for strings declarations, etc. and String (capitalized) for method calls such as String.Empty and String.Format just as a sort of aide memoir that I was calling an object method. As I started to create String extension methods I reviewed this habit of mine and decided this was a pointless differentiation and switched to just using string all the time. At the same time I decided that my using Int32 for methods such as Int32.TryParse and just int in declarations, etc. was also pointless and perhaps confusing to others and so switched to using int all the time instead. It all compiles to the same IL code anyway so it was just a matter of style really. What do you think?

                                          - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

                                          Sander RosselS Offline
                                          Sander RosselS Offline
                                          Sander Rossel
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #34

                                          I used to do the same, string variable and String.Format(...) and int variable and Int32.Parse(...). There was a good reason I did that though, Microsoft recommended doing it! Until I switched to Visual Studio 2015 and all of a sudden it started giving me "tips" to simplify String to string and Int32 to int... Thanks Microsoft, for sticking to your own guidelines :~ For the same reason I stopped using this and base (unless necessary) and TheClassImIn.StaticMethod instead of simply StaticMethod. And yes, I know I can turn off those rules, but I like sticking to defaults :)

                                          Best, Sander arrgh.js - Bringing LINQ to JavaScript SQL Server for C# Developers Succinctly Object-Oriented Programming in C# Succinctly

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