Whenever a class or struct is created, its constructor is called. A class or struct may have multiple constructors that take different arguments.
Types of Constructor
Copy Constructor
A constructor used for making objects by copying variables from other objects.
class Person
{
// Copy constructor.
public Person(Person previousPerson)
{
Name = previousPerson.Name;
Age = previousPerson.Age;
}
//// Alternate copy constructor calls the instance constructor.
//public Person(Person previousPerson)
// : this(previousPerson.Name, previousPerson.Age)
//{
//}
// Instance constructor.
public Person(string name, int age)
{
Name = name;
Age = age;
}
public int Age { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
public string Details()
{
return Name + " is " + Age.ToString();
}
}
class TestPerson
{
static void Main()
{
// Create a Person object by using the instance constructor.
Person person1 = new Person("George", 40);
// Create another Person object, copying person1.
Person person2 = new Person(person1);
// Change each person's age.
person1.Age = 39;
person2.Age = 41;
// Change person2's name.
person2.Name = "Charles";
// Show details to verify that the name and age fields are distinct.
Console.WriteLine(person1.Details());
Console.WriteLine(person2.Details());
// Keep the console window open in debug mode.
Console.WriteLine("Press any key to exit.");
Console.ReadKey();
}
}
// Output:
// George is 39
// Charles is 41
Instance/Parameterized Constructor
A constructor which have one or more parameters.
You declare an instance constructor to specify the code that is executed when you create a new instance of a type with the new expression.
class Coords
{
public Coords() : this(0, 0) { } // Instance Constructor
public Coords(int x, int y) // Paramaterized Constructor
{
X = x;
Y = y;
}
public int X { get; set; }
public int Y { get; set; }
public override string ToString() => $"({X},{Y})";
}
class Example
{
static void Main()
{
var p1 = new Coords();
Console.WriteLine($"Coords #1 at {p1}");
// Output: Coords #1 at (0,0)
var p2 = new Coords(5, 3);
Console.WriteLine($"Coords #2 at {p2}");
// Output: Coords #2 at (5,3)
}
}
Parameterless (Default) Constructor
If a class has no explicit instance constructors, C# provides a parameterless (default) constructor that you can use to instantiate an instance of that class.
public class Person
{
public int age;
public string name = "unknown";
}
class Example
{
static void Main()
{
var person = new Person();
Console.WriteLine($"Name: {person.name}, Age: {person.age}");
// Output: Name: unknown, Age: 0
}
}
Private Constructor
It is generally used in classes that contain static members only.
If a class has one or more private constructors and no public constructors, other classes (except nested classes) cannot create instances of this class.
The declaration of the empty constructor prevents the automatic generation of a parameterless constructor.
public class Counter
{
private Counter() { } // Private Constructor
public static int currentCount;
public static int IncrementCount()
{
return ++currentCount;
}
}
class TestCounter
{
static void Main()
{
// If you uncomment the following statement, it will generate
// an error because the constructor is inaccessible:
// Counter aCounter = new Counter(); // Error
Counter.currentCount = 100;
Counter.IncrementCount();
Console.WriteLine("New count: {0}", Counter.currentCount);
// Keep the console window open in debug mode.
Console.WriteLine("Press any key to exit.");
Console.ReadKey();
}
}
// Output: New count: 101
Static Constructor
A static constructor is used to initialize any static data/fields, or to perform a particular action that needs to be performed only once.
It is called automatically before the first instance is created or any static members are referenced.
A class or struct can only have one static constructor.
public class Bus
{
// Static variable used by all Bus instances.
// Represents the time the first bus of the day starts its route.
protected static readonly DateTime globalStartTime;
// Property for the number of each bus.
protected int RouteNumber { get; set; }
// Static constructor to initialize the static variable.
// It is invoked before the first instance constructor is run.
static Bus()
{
globalStartTime = DateTime.Now;
// The following statement produces the first line of output,
// and the line occurs only once.
Console.WriteLine("Static constructor sets global start time to {0}",
globalStartTime.ToLongTimeString());
}
// Instance constructor.
public Bus(int routeNum)
{
RouteNumber = routeNum;
Console.WriteLine("Bus #{0} is created.", RouteNumber);
}
// Instance method.
public void Drive()
{
TimeSpan elapsedTime = DateTime.Now - globalStartTime;
// For demonstration purposes we treat milliseconds as minutes to simulate
// actual bus times. Do not do this in your actual bus schedule program!
Console.WriteLine("{0} is starting its route {1:N2} minutes after global start time {2}.",
this.RouteNumber,
elapsedTime.Milliseconds,
globalStartTime.ToShortTimeString());
}
}
class TestBus
{
static void Main()
{
// The creation of this instance activates the static constructor.
Bus bus1 = new Bus(71);
// Create a second bus.
Bus bus2 = new Bus(72);
// Send bus1 on its way.
bus1.Drive();
// Wait for bus2 to warm up.
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(25);
// Send bus2 on its way.
bus2.Drive();
// Keep the console window open in debug mode.
Console.WriteLine("Press any key to exit.");
Console.ReadKey();
}
}
/* Sample output:
Static constructor sets global start time to 3:57:08 PM.
Bus #71 is created.
Bus #72 is created.
71 is starting its route 6.00 minutes after global start time 3:57 PM.
72 is starting its route 31.00 minutes after global start time 3:57 PM.
*/