New Features of C#2.0 - Static Classes

Static classes are used when a class provides functionality that is not specific to any unique instance. Here are the features of static classes in C# 2.0.

• Static classes can not be instantiated.
• Static classes are sealed so they can not be inherited.
• Only static members are allowed.
• Static classes can only have static constructor to initialize static members.

Advantages

Compiler makes sure that no instance of static class is created. In previous version of C#, the constructor has to be marked private to avoid this from happening.

Also compiler makes sure that no instance members are declared within a static class.

Sample:

Public static class MyStaticClass
{
Private static int _staticVariable;
Public static int staticVariable;
{
Get
{
Return _staticVariable;
}
Set
{
_staticVariable = value;
}
}
Public static void Function()
{
}
}