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Home » .NET Best Practices » What really make difference between structures and classes?

What really make difference between structures and classes?


I will enumerate through this article some differences between classes and structures

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There is an important question that several people ask in forums and the question is "so what's the difference between structure and class? "Or "In what could be the structure useful as we have already the class that can do perfectly the job?" Those questions could particularly be posed by a java programmer who wants to emigrate from Java to .Net. For this reason I will enumerate through this article some of those differences to make clear the issue.

  1. The structures are value types and the classes are reference types. Before stepping to the next point let explain the difference between the two types. Imagine this is the memory within the machine




    Figure 1

    The value types are stocked in the stack but the reference type no. In fact, what could be really stocked in the stack for the reference types is a pointer that targets an address at the heap level.

    Then type of structure objects are stocked in the stack exactly like any value type say an Integer, a double or a float. Meanwhile, memory emplacements could be reserved for the reference types in the heap. Defining heap and stack and the difference between them is beyond the scope of this article but nevertheless I propose this excellent Matthew article to understand the memory mechanism.

    http://www.c-sharpcorner.com/UploadFile/rmcochran/csharp_memory01122006130034PM/csharp_memory.aspx?ArticleID=9adb0e3c-b3f6-40b5-98b5-413b6d348b91
  2. Classes are usually used for large amounts of data, whereas structs are usually used for smaller amount of data
  3. Classes could be inherited whereas structures no
  4. A structure couldn't be Null like a class
  5. A structure couldn't have a destructor such as class
  6. A structure can't be abstract, a class can
  7. You cannot override any methods within a structure except those belong to type of object
     
    • Equals()
    • GetHashCode()
    • GetType()
    • ToString()

    And the other polymorphism technique used for structures is implementing interfaces
     
  8. Declared events within a class are automatically locked and then they are Thread safe, at the contrast of the structure type where event couldn't be locked.
  9. A structure must have always the default parameter less constructor be defined as public but a class might have one, so you can't define a private parameter less constructor

    struct Me
        {
            private Me() // compile-time error
            {
            }
        }
        
    class
    Me
             {
                private Me() // runs Ok{
             }

     
  10. A static constructor is trigged in case of class but not in case of structure

    struct myStructure
        {
            static myStructure()
            {
                Console.WriteLine("This is me a structure");
            }
        }
        class myClass

        {
            static myClass()
            {
                Console.WriteLine("This is me a class");
            }
        }

        class Program
        {
            static void Main(string[] args)
            {
               myStructure s = new myStructure();//Nothing happen
               myClass c = new myClass();//Will out put This is me a class
               Console.Read();
            }
        }
     

  11. The strucutre can't conatain a volatile field wheatheas the class does
  12. You can't use sizeof with classes but you can with structures
  13. Fields are automatically initialized with classes to 0/false/null wheatheras in strucutres no
  14. Fields couldn't directley instanciated within structures but classes allow such operations

    struct myStructure
        {
            public string x = 2;//Not allowed
        }
        class myClass
        {
            public string x = 2; //Allowed
        }
     
  15. Structure and class don't adopt the same aproach taward the System.Object.Equals() method

    Suppose those Strucutre and class

    struct StructurePerson
        {
            public string FirstName;
            public string LastName;
        }
        class ClassPerson
        {
            public string FirstName;
            public string LastName;
        }

    Now, try this code

    class Program
        {
            static void Main(string[] args)
            {
                StructurePerson strX = new StructurePerson();
                strX.LastName = "Bejaoui";
                strX.FirstName = "Bechir";
                StructurePerson strY = new StructurePerson();
                strY.LastName = "Bejaoui";
                strY.FirstName = "Bechir";

                if (strX.Equals(strY))
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("strX = strY");
                }
                else
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("strX != strY");
                }//This code displays strX = strY

                ClassPerson clsX = new ClassPerson();
                clsX.LastName = "Bejaoui";
                clsX.FirstName = "Bechir";
                ClassPerson clsY = new ClassPerson();
                clsY.LastName = "Bejaoui";
                clsY.FirstName = "Bechir";

                if (clsX.Equals(clsY))
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("clsX = clsY");
                }
                else
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("clsX != clsY");
                }//This code displays clsX != clsY
                Console.Read();
            }
        }

    In the first strucutre case the two objects are value types, they are compared according to their values like int I = 5 and int J = 5 so I=J because they have the same value. At the contrast, in the class case two different and distinct reference are created so to make clsX = clsY you should use this code.

                ClassPerson clsX = new ClassPerson();
                clsX.LastName = "Bejaoui";
                clsX.FirstName = "Bechir";
                ClassPerson clsY = clsX;
                if (clsX.Equals(clsY))
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("clsX = clsY");
                }
                else
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("clsX != clsY");

                }//This code displays clsX = clsY


That's it

Good Dotneting!!!


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 About the author
 
Bechir Bejaoui

The author holds a master degree in NTIC specialized  in software developement delivered by the high school of communication SUPCOM, he also holds a bachelor degree in finance delivered by  the  economic sciences and  management  university of Tunis "FSEGT".

He also holds:

MCPD enteprise solutions developement 3.5 certification and MCTS distibuted application developement 2.0

 He's a freelance developer since 2006. Actually woking on the WPF, .Net framewok 3.5, silverlight and the other .Net new features, in addition, he is painter and sculptor.

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 Comments
Structures vs Classes by Mike On March 3, 2009
Structures are a throwback to C. Unfortunately, the implementation is "Surprising" in .NET, and you will find many "Interesting Features" if you try to use them. A wise person will just use classes and avoid the surprises.
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Ha ha ha by Bechir On March 4, 2009
In Tunisia we have a proverb. The good one is the person who plays with eggs and stones at the same time. In our case the eggs are classes and the stones are strucutres and all of them are objects hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah ha full stop
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some confustion with new keyword for structure by bhanu On April 24, 2010
all the difference are very good.but one should clear to m e pls. 
In 10th point we cant use new keyword with structure.
myStructure s = new myStructure();

and in 15th point Bechir you are still declairing with new.
StructurePerson strX = new StructurePerson();

pls clear this concept for me.
thanks
bhanu




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Re: some confustion with new keyword for structure by Bechir On April 25, 2010
Good question bhanu,

Ok, in the rule n10 I've just made clear that the notion of the static constructor let's say is not useful in case of structure like in the class case. First, let's explain the notion of the static constructor, this last one once it holds some business logic, then this business logic will be processed exactly one time when the first instance of the class is created, Of Corse, if you want that business logic is invoked each time a new instance is created then you should locate it in the instance constructor, the  static constructor is approximatively similar  to the static block in java static{//Some logic here} if you did some java programming. In the other hand if you define some business logic within  a static constructor within structure then this last one will not simply be invoked, for the first time that you use the structure. 



In the n15 the use of the new keyword is optional in case of structure as it is of value type. try to use this structure with and without the new keyword, in both cases it works!

struct Structure2

{

public string MyProperty { get { return "Bechir"; } }

}

I can still use the new keyword in this case for example, I mean, I want to leverage some business logic when the structure is invoked

struct Structure

{

private int result;

public Structure(int a , int b)

{

result = a + b;

}

public int MyProperty { get { return result; } }

}


Structure
s = new Structure(2,5);

Console.WriteLine(s.MyProperty.ToString());





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