C# Action Type

Action objects return no values.

The Action type is similar to a void method. It must never return a value onto the evaluation stack. This generic type is found in the System namespace.

Void

Example. Let us start. In this program, the Actions point to anonymous functions. These functions cannot return values onto the evaluation stack. An Action instance can receive parameters, but cannot return values.

Return

So: An Action instance is similar to a void method. The program shows how to Invoke the Action instances.

Based on:

.NET 4.5

C# program that uses Action type and Invoke

using System;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
	// Example Action instances.
	// ... First example uses one parameter.
	// ... Second example uses two parameters.
	// ... Third example uses no parameter.
	// ... None have results.
	Action<int> example1 =
	    (int x) => Console.WriteLine("Write {0}", x);
	Action<int, int> example2 =
	    (x, y) => Console.WriteLine("Write {0} and {1}", x, y);
	Action example3 =
	    () => Console.WriteLine("Done");
	// Call the anonymous methods.
	example1.Invoke(1);
	example2.Invoke(2, 3);
	example3.Invoke();
    }
}

Output

Write 1
Write 2 and 3
Done

We see the Action type and its usage with three lambda expressions. The first Action instance uses the constructed type Action<int>, and an explicit parameter list in the lambda expression.

Lambdas

And: It receives one argument when invoked. It returns no result—it is a void delegate method.

The second and third Action instances return no value. The Action type specifies a function that returns no value through a return statement. The second Action receives two int parameters. The third Action receives no parameters.

Int

The Invoke method receives a number of arguments equal to the specific type of Action. The Action type is a parameterized type. It must have the types of the arguments specified at declaration.

Generic Method

Tip: This information is determined at compile-time, before runtime. If a program compiles, it uses the correct argument types.

Compile-Time Error

Benchmark. How much slower are delegate method calls than direct method calls? To test this, we use the Action type with a single parameter. This program introduces the Method1 method, which contains some dummy code for testing.

First: In the first loop, Method1 (which uses no Action) is called directly 100 million times.

Second: In the second loop, an Action instance that points to Method1 is invoked the same number of times.

C# program that tests Action invocation

using System;
using System.Diagnostics;

class Program
{
    const int _max = 100000000;
    static void Main()
    {
	// Create Action delegate for Method1.
	Action<int> action = new Action<int>(Method1);

	var s1 = Stopwatch.StartNew();
	for (int i = 0; i < _max; i++)
	{
	    // Direct call.
	    Method1(5);
	}
	s1.Stop();
	var s2 = Stopwatch.StartNew();
	for (int i = 0; i < _max; i++)
	{
	    // Delegate call.
	    action.Invoke(5);
	}
	s2.Stop();
	Console.WriteLine(((double)(s1.Elapsed.TotalMilliseconds * 1000 * 1000) /
	    _max).ToString("0.00 ns"));
	Console.WriteLine(((double)(s2.Elapsed.TotalMilliseconds * 1000 * 1000) /
	    _max).ToString("0.00 ns"));
	Console.Read();
    }

    static void Method1(int param)
    {
	// Dummy.
	if (param == -1)
	{
	    throw new Exception();
	}
    }
}

Output

0.32 ns
3.52 ns

For a method with one parameter and no return value, the Action invocation costs more than 3 ns extra each time. This is unlikely to cause many performance problems. The Action type is efficient and should not be avoided.

Funcs. What is the difference between the Action type and the Func type? The Action type receives parameters but does not return a parameter. Func receives parameters and returns a result value.

So: An Action instance never returns anything, while the Func always returns something.

Func

Abstract. Next, we compare abstract methods. Actions can serve as an abstraction for various methods. In other words, an Action<int> can be an instance that points to any function that receives an int parameter.

But: You can design an abstract class with an abstract method that also can be used in this way.

Abstract

Next: In the following program, we test such an abstract class against an Action<int>.

Benchmark

C# program that benchmarks abstract

using System;
using System.Diagnostics;

abstract class A
{
    public abstract void MethodA(int y);
}

class AB : A
{
    public override void MethodA(int y)
    {
    }
}

class Program
{
    static void MethodA(int y)
    {
    }

    static void Main()
    {
	A abst = new AB();
	abst.MethodA(0);

	Action<int> action = new Action<int>(MethodA);
	action.Invoke(0);

	const int max = 100000000;
	var s1 = Stopwatch.StartNew();
	for (int i = 0; i < max; i++)
	{
	    abst.MethodA(i);
	    abst.MethodA(i);
	}
	s1.Stop();
	var s2 = Stopwatch.StartNew();
	for (int i = 0; i < max; i++)
	{
	    action.Invoke(i);
	    action.Invoke(i);
	}
	s2.Stop();
	Console.WriteLine(((double)(s1.Elapsed.TotalMilliseconds * 1000000) /
	    max).ToString("0.00 ns"));
	Console.WriteLine(((double)(s2.Elapsed.TotalMilliseconds * 1000000) /
	    max).ToString("0.00 ns"));
	Console.Read();
    }
}

Output

3.54 ns
6.68 ns

The result was that the Action was slower to call than the method from the abstract class reference. This means that if you can use class derivation and abstract classes instead of Actions, you will likely have a faster program.

Dictionary. It is possible to use Action as the value in a Dictionary instance. This makes it possible to call functions by a string key. In this example, we invoke two static void methods based on simple string keys.

DictionaryStatic Method

Idea: You could use a Dictionary of an abstract class. Then, instantiate each method as an instance of a derived class.

Inheritance

C# program that uses Dictionary with Action

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
	Dictionary<string, Action> dict = new Dictionary<string, Action>();
	dict["cat"] = new Action(Cat);
	dict["dog"] = new Action(Dog);

	dict["cat"].Invoke();
	dict["dog"].Invoke();
    }

    static void Cat()
    {
	Console.WriteLine("CAT");
    }

    static void Dog()
    {
	Console.WriteLine("DOG");
    }
}

Output

CAT
DOG

Summary. Programs use Action for many purposes. The Action type specifies a function object that can receive parameters, but never returns a value onto the stack. In other terms, Action instances are void methods.

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