C# var Examples

Specify the var keyword. Var is an implicit type that aliases the actual type.

Var. This keyword references a type in an implicit way. It aliases any type. The aliased type is determined by the C# compiler. This has no performance penalty.

The keyword var is an example of syntactic sugar. It makes programs shorter and easier to read. It can be used in method bodies and loops.Keywords

First example. Let us look at some C# code examples of the var keyword. To begin, here is a code example that shows the var keyword referencing a List of ints.

Info: Please note that you cannot use an old version of the .NET Framework to compile this program.

List: This code uses the var keyword and the List type. The variable is known to be a List. So var refers to a List of ints.

List Int, uint

Tip: You can hover over the var keyword and Visual Studio tells you the type List. This feature is called IntelliSense.

C# program that uses var, creates List using System; using System.Collections.Generic; class Program { public static void Main() { // Hover over the var keyword. // ... Visual Studio will tell us the referenced type. var codes = new List<int> { 1, 2, 7, 9 }; Console.WriteLine("LIST COUNT: " + codes.Count); } } Output LIST COUNT: 4

Query expression example. Next we see a query expression. It returns an IEnumerable of ints. The query is evaluated to this type—and var implicitly refers to that type.IEnumerable

Foreach: You can use var with the foreach-loop. You can use it like any other variable.

Foreach

Tip: The var keyword can represent any type that can be determined at compile-time. It is precisely equivalent after compilation.

C# program that uses var, query expression using System; using System.Linq; class Program { public static void Main() { int[] numbers = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 }; // Use a query expression to get all the odd numbers from the array. // ... The var stores the result IEnumerable. var items = from item in numbers where (item % 2 == 1) select item; // Each item is an int. foreach (var item in items) { Console.WriteLine("VAR LOOP: {0}", item); } // Use the same loop but without var. foreach (int item in items) { Console.WriteLine("LOOP 2: {0}", item); } } } Output VAR LOOP: 1 VAR LOOP: 3 VAR LOOP: 5 LOOP 2: 1 LOOP 2: 3 LOOP 2: 5

Error, null var. We cannot assign a var to null. This will result in a compiler warning. We also cannot use var as a parameter type or a return value of a method.Null Return

C# program that causes cannot assign null error class Program { static void Main() { var test = null; } } Output Error CS0815 Cannot assign <null> to an implicitly-typed variable

Implementation. Here we see the internal implementation and behavior of C# code that uses the var keyword. C# code is turned into IL.

IL: You can see it with a utility called IL Disassembler provided with Visual Studio. There are two int32 values in the IL.

IL Disassembler

Note: The int declaration is the same as the var declaration in the IL. So the execution engine doesn't know that you used var.

And: They are compiled to the same IL. The var keyword is equally fast as explicit types like int or string.

Method using var: C# public int ReturnValue() { var a = 5; int b = 5; return a + b; } IL of the method .method public hidebysig instance int32 ReturnValue() cil managed { // Code size 9 (0x9) .maxstack 1 .locals init ([0] int32 result, [1] int32 CS$1$0000) IL_0000: nop IL_0001: ldc.i4.5 IL_0002: stloc.0 IL_0003: ldloc.0 IL_0004: stloc.1 IL_0005: br.s IL_0007 IL_0007: ldloc.1 IL_0008: ret } // end of method VarKW::ReturnValue

Dictionary. Var simplifies the syntax of generic types. It is particularly useful for generic collections such as Dictionary. It allows you to omit the long type parameter lists.Dictionary

And: This simplifies the syntax of your code. It improves readability. Use it in your code.

C# program that uses var, Dictionary using System; using System.Collections.Generic; class Program { static void Main() { // Use implicit type keyword var on Dictionary instance. // ... Then use the collection itself. var data = new Dictionary<string, int>(); data.Add("cat", 2); data.Add("dog", 1); Console.WriteLine("cat - dog = {0}", data["cat"] - data["dog"]); } } Output cat - dog = 1

Type systems. The C# language has a strong type system. Memory is labeled by what kind of object it contains. The language uses strong types to enforce code quality.

So: The C# compiler raises errors and warnings because it wants your code to work properly.

And: It makes inferences about your code and can deduce the type of a variable.

Brevity: Languages sometimes have lengthy keywords. You can reduce this with var—it's only 3 letters.

Uses. One tip is to use var on generic types. The Dictionary type has verbose syntax—it uses a lot of brackets and letters and a comma.

Info: Some code becomes much easier to read with this keyword. Var can even make code refactoring easier.

Tip: If you change a type name with refactoring, a var type local will not need to be changed.

A summary. Var is a handy keyword. We find out what it stands for by hovering over it in Visual Studio. It has similarities to #define or a C++ typedef.

We use var for brevity. It makes code easier to understand. In some cases it can make things more confusing, so use common sense.

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C# var Examples

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