char, string Data Types in C#.NET

 char & string Data Types

A char data type (alias for System.Char) is used to represent a single Unicode character. To represent more than one char, you use a string, which is basically just a list of chars

Example:

char ch = 'H';

string helloWorld = "Hello, world!"; 

foreach(char c in helloWorld)

{

    Console.WriteLine(c);

} 

A string is a piece of text. It's usually consists of 2 characters or more, since if it's just one, you should consider using a char instead. However,

strings can be empty as well or even null, since it's a reference type. A string can be declared much like the other data types we have worked with already.

Example:

string strTitle = “Hello World;

          strTitle = strTitle + “, How are you”;

 

strings are immutable.

In C#, strings are immutable, which basically means that once they are created, they can't be changed. That's obviously not very practical in daily use.

so, the framework helps us - instead of having to keep declaring new strings to make changes, it simply creates a new string for you each time you change the existing one.

Example:

string numbers = "";

for (int i = 0; i < 100; i++)

{

    numbers += i.ToString();

}

Console.WriteLine(numbers); 

In this case, we loop 100 times, each time appending the current index to the string. With the knowledge you just gained, you now know that instead of altering.

the existing string to include the latest number, a new string is created and then assigned to the old variable, leaving the old value to be cleaned up by the framework.

And this happens 100 times! Instead, it's generally recommended to use a so-called String Builder.

 String Builder

In C#, a StringBuilder is a mutable series of characters that can be extended to store more characters if required. Unlike with strings, modifying a StringBuilder instance does not result in the creation of a new instance in memory.

 Example:

StringBuilder numbers = new StringBuilder();

for (int i = 0; i < 10000; i++)

    numbers.Append(i);

Console.WriteLine(numbers.ToString()); 

Basic string operations

v  concatenate

v  Length

v  indexOf

v  Substring()

v  Replace()

v  Contains()

v  StartsWith()

v  EndsWith()

 

Value Types Vs Reference Types 

The difference between them is very simple—a variable of a value type directly contains data, while a variable of a reference type just stores a reference to data, as shown as follows:


 
As you can see, a Value type stores its actual Value directly in the Stack memory, while a Reference type only stores a Reference here. The actual value is in the Heap memory. Therefore, it is also possible to have two or more variables of a reference type that reference exactly the same value.

Value Types are typically created at compile time and stored in stack memory. This allocation on the stack provides efficient memory management and quick access to the values. However, it's important to highlight that the stack memory is not accessible by the garbage collector. Unlike heap memory, which is managed by the garbage collector to reclaim unused objects, the stack memory is not subject to garbage collection. This means that Value Types have a limited lifetime and are automatically deallocated once they go out of scope.

Reference Type variables, such as Classes, Objects, Arrays, Indexers, and Interfaces, are stored in a distinct area of memory called the heap. This memory region allows for flexible allocation and deallocation of objects during runtime. When a reference type variable is no longer in use, it can be marked for garbage collection. The garbage collector periodically identifies, and releases memory occupied by unreferenced objects, ensuring efficient memory management within the heap. 

Convert()

Convert class provides different methods to convert a base data type to another base data type. The base types supported by the Convert class are Boolean, Char, SByte, Byte, Int16, Int32, Int64, UInt16, UInt32, UInt64, Single, Double, Decimal, DateTime, and String

Example:

int a;

 Console.WriteLine("Enter a value: ");

a = Convert.ToInt16(Console.ReadLine());

Console.WriteLine("Entered value is : {0});

 

Object Data Type

The Object Type is the ultimate base class for all data types in C# Common Type System (CTS). Object is an alias for System.Object class. The object types can be assigned values of any other types, value types, reference types, predefined or user-defined types. However, before assigning values, it needs type conversion.

 When a value type is converted to object type, it is called boxing and on the other hand, when an object type is converted to a value type, it is called unboxing.

Example:

int i=10;

object o = i; //boxing 

int j = (int)o; //unboxing

 

Boxing vs UnBoxing

Boxing is the process of converting a value type to the type object or to any interface type implemented by this value type. When the common language runtime (CLR) boxes a value type, it wraps the value inside a System.Object instance and stores it on the managed heap.

 Unboxing extracts the value type from the object. Boxing is implicit; unboxing is explicit. The concept of boxing and unboxing underlies the C# unified view of the type of system in which a value of any type can be treated as an object.

 Example: 

static void Main(string[] args)

        {

            int i = 100;

            Object o = i; 

            string name = "Hi, Welcome to Boxing and Unboxing Demo";

            Object o1 = name; 

            string name1;

            name1 = (string)o1;

            int j;

            j = (int)o;

            Console.WriteLine(o);

            Console.WriteLine(i);

            Console.WriteLine(j);

            Console.WriteLine(name1);

            Console.ReadLine();          

        } 

C# program to swap 2 numbers and then print

using System;

namespace SwapNumbers

                                             {             

                                              class Swapping

                                                {                                                                         

                                                static void Main(string[] args)

                                                 {                                                                         

                                                   int a, b, temp;

                                                    Console.WriteLine("Enter a value:");

                                                      a = Convert.ToInt16(Console.ReadLine()); 

                                                       Console.WriteLine("Enter b value:");   

                                                       b = Convert.ToInt16(Console.ReadLine());

                                                       Console.WriteLine("Entered values a = {0} and b = {1}",     a,b);                                                          temp = a;                                                                     

                                                         a = b;                                                                

                                                         b = temp;                                                                                                                                                Console.WriteLine("After Swapping values a = {0} and b = {1}",a,b);

                                              Console.ReadLine();                                                                     

                                         }}}

GUID Data Type

A Globally Unique Identifier or GUID represents a gigantic identification number with memory size 16 bytes(128-bit). This data type is used for the global identification of objects, programs, records, and so on. The important property of a GUID is that each value is globally unique. The value is generated by an algorithm developed by Microsoft.

Guid is present in System namespace in C#

Example:

Guid demoGuid = Guid.NewGuid();

Console.WriteLine(demoGuid.ToString());

O/P

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