string
is an alias in C# for System.String
.
So technically, there is no difference. It's like int
vs. System.Int32
.
As far as guidelines, it's generally recommended to use string
any time you're referring to an object.
e.g.
string place = "world";
Likewise, I think it's generally recommended to use String
if you need to refer specifically to the class.
e.g.
string greet = String.Format("Hello {0}!", place);
This is the style that Microsoft tends to use in their examples.
It appears that the guidance in this area may have changed, as StyleCop now enforces the use of the C# specific aliases.
Apart from the apparent difference of
- having to declare the value at the time of a definition for a
const
VS readonly
values can be computed dynamically but need to be assigned before the constructor exits.. after that it is frozen.
const
's are implicitly static
. You use a ClassName.ConstantName
notation to access them.
There is a subtle difference. Consider a class defined in AssemblyA
.
public class Const_V_Readonly
{
public const int I_CONST_VALUE = 2;
public readonly int I_RO_VALUE;
public Const_V_Readonly()
{
I_RO_VALUE = 3;
}
}
AssemblyB
references AssemblyA
and uses these values in code. When this is compiled:
- in the case of the
const
value, it is like a find-replace. The value 2 is 'baked into' the AssemblyB
's IL. This means that if tomorrow I update I_CONST_VALUE
to 20, AssemblyB
would still have 2 till I recompile it.
- in the case of the
readonly
value, it is like a ref
to a memory location. The value is not baked into AssemblyB
's IL. This means that if the memory location is updated, AssemblyB
gets the new value without recompilation. So if I_RO_VALUE
is updated to 30, you only need to build AssemblyA
and all clients do not need to be recompiled.
So if you are confident that the value of the constant won't change, use a const
.
public const int CM_IN_A_METER = 100;
But if you have a constant that may change (e.g. w.r.t. precision).. or when in doubt, use a readonly
.
public readonly float PI = 3.14;
Update: Aku needs to get a mention because he pointed this out first. Also I need to plug where I learned this: Effective C# - Bill Wagner
Best Answer
Yes - their performance characteristics differ significantly. It would probably be better to call them
SortedList
andSortedTree
as that reflects the implementation more closely.Look at the MSDN docs for each of them (
SortedList
,SortedDictionary
) for details of the performance for different operations in different situtations. Here's a nice summary (from theSortedDictionary
docs):(
SortedList
actually maintains a sorted array, rather than using a tree. It still uses binary search to find elements.)