C 5 0 programmers reference

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C# 5.0 PROGRAMMER’S REFERENCE
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxiii

▶▶ Part IThe C# Ecosystem
Chapter 1

The C# Environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Chapter 2

Writing a First Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Chapter 3

Program and Code File Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

▶▶ Part II C# Language Elements
Chapter 4

Data Types, Variables, and Constants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Chapter 5

Operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Chapter 6

Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Chapter 7

Program Control Statements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Chapter 8

LINQ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Chapter 9

Error Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Chapter 10 Tracing and Debugging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

▶▶ Part III Object-Oriented Programming
Chapter 11 OOP Concepts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Chapter 12 Classes and Structures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Chapter 13 Namespaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Chapter 14 Collection Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Chapter 15 Generics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343

▶▶ Part IV Interacting with the Environment
Chapter 16 Printing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
Chapter 17 Configuration and Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
Chapter 18 Streams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
Chapter 19 File System Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425

Chapter 20 Networking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445

Continues

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▶▶ Part V Advanced Topics
Chapter 21 Regular Expressions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469
Chapter 22 Parallel Programming. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
Chapter 23 ADO.NET. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509
Chapter 24 XML. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533
Chapter 25 Serialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563
Chapter 26 Reflection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581
Chapter 27 Cryptography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601

▶▶ Part VI Appendices
Appendix A Solutions to Exercises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 625
Appendix B Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 733
Appendix C Variable Declarations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 737
Appendix D Constant Declarations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 741
Appendix E Operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 743
Appendix F Method Declarations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749
Appendix G Useful Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753
Appendix H Control Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 757
Appendix I

Error Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 761

Appendix J LINQ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 763

Appendix K Classes and Structures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 773
Appendix L Collection Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 777
Appendix M Generic Declarations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 783
Appendix N Printing and Graphics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 785
Appendix O Useful Exception Classes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 799
Appendix P Date and Time Format Specifiers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 803
Appendix Q Other Format Specifiers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 807
Appendix R Streams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 813
Appendix S Filesystem Classes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 821
Appendix T Regular Expressions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 835
Appendix U Parallel Programming. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 843

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Appendix V XML. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 849
Appendix W Serialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 859
Appendix X Reflection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 865
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877

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C# 5.0
Programmer’s Reference

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C# 5.0
Programmer’s Reference

Rod Stephens

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C# 5.0 Programmer’s Reference
Published by
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
10475 Crosspoint Boulevard
Indianapolis, IN 46256

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Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
ISBN: 978-1-118-84728-2
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Manufactured in the United States of America
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About the Author

Rod Stephens  started out as a mathematician, but while studying at MIT, he
discovered how much fun programming is and has been programming professionally ever since. During his career, he has worked on an eclectic assortment
of applications in such fields as telephone switching, billing, repair dispatching,
tax processing, wastewater treatment, concert ticket sales, cartography, and

training for professional football players.

Rod has been a Microsoft Visual Basic Most Valuable Professional (MVP)
for more than 10 years and has taught introductory programming at ITT Technical Institute.
He has written more than two dozen books that have been translated into languages from all
over the world, and more than 250 magazine articles covering C#, Visual Basic, Visual Basic for
Applications, Delphi, and Java.
Rod’s popular C# Helper website (www.CSharpHelper.com) receives almost a million post visits per
year and contains thousands of pages of tips, tricks, and example programs for C# programmers, as
well as example code for this book. His VB Helper website (www.vb-helper.com) contains similar
material for Visual Basic programmers.
You can contact Rod at or

About the Technical Editor

Brian Hochgurtel  has been doing .NET development for more than 10 years, and actually started

his .NET experience with Rod Stephens when they wrote the Wiley book Visual Basic .NET and
XML in 2002. Currently Brian works with C#, SQL Server, and SharePoint at Riverside Technology
in Fort Collins, CO.

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Credits
Executive Editor

Vice President and
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Robert Elliott

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Project Editor

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Technical Editor

Brian Hochgurtel

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Wiley

Marketing Manager

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Amy Knies

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to  Bob Elliott, Adaobi Obi Tulton, John Mueller, San Dee Phillips, Daniel Scribner, and

all the others who worked so hard to make this book possible.
Thanks also to technical editor Brian Hochgurtel for giving me the benefit of his valuable experience.

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Contents
xxxiii

xxxiv
xxxiv
xxxv
xxxvi
xxxvii

xxxviii
xxxviii
xxxix
xl
xl
xli

Introduction

xxxiii

Part I: The C# Ecosystem
Chapter 1: The C# Environment

Visual Studio
3
The C# Compiler
4
The CLR
6
The .NET Framework
8
Summary9
Exercises10
Chapter 2: Writing a First Program

3

3
4

6
8
9
10
11

11
14
16
19
21
23
24

3

11

Types of Projects
11
Console Applications
14
Windows Forms Applications
16
WPF Applications
19
Windows Store Applications
21
Summary23
Exercises24

Chapter 3: Program and Code File Structure

Hidden Files
Preprocessor Directives

27

28
31

#define and #undef
31
#if, #else, #elif, and #endif
33
#warning and #error
34
#line34
#region and #endregion
35
#pragma36

Code File Structure

37

The using Directive
The namespace Statement
Class Definitions

38

40
42

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CONTENTS

Comments43
End-of-line and Multiline Comments
XML Comments

43
45

Summary48
Exercises48
Part II: C# Language Elements
Chapter 4: Data Types, Variables, and Constants

Data Types

53

54

Value Versus Reference Types
The var Keyword

Variable Declaration Syntax

57
58

59

Name62
Attributes62
Accessibility63
Static, Constant, and Volatile Variables
64

Initialization65
Classes and Structures
66
Arrays67
Collections68

Literal Type Characters
Data Type Conversion

69
72

Implicit Conversion
73
Casting74
Using the as Operator
76
Casting Arrays

77
Parsing77
Using System.Convert
78
Using System.BitConverter
78
ToString79

Scope79
Block Scope
Method Scope
Class Scope
Restricting Scope

79
80
81
81

Parameter Declarations

82

By Value
By Reference
For Output
Unusual Circumstances and Exceptions
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82
83
84
85


CONTENTS

Properties86
Enumerations88
Nullable Types
92
Delegates93
Summary95
Exercises96
Chapter 5: Operators

99

Arithmetic Operators

100

Result Data Type
Shift Operators
Increment and Decrement Operators

Comparison Operators
Logical Operators

Bitwise Operators
Conditional and Null-coalescing Operators
Assignment Operators
Operator Precedence
The StringBuilder Class
DateTime and TimeSpan Operations
Operator Overloading
Comparison Operators
Logical Operators
Type Conversion Operators

100
101
101

102
103
105
106
107
108
110
111
112
113
115
115

Summary117
Exercises118

Chapter 6: Methods

121

Method Declarations

122

Attributes122
Accessibility124
Modifiers124
Name128
Return Type
128
Parameters129
Implementing Interfaces
133

Extension Methods
Lambda Expressions

135
136

Expression Lambdas
Statement Lambdas
Async Lambdas

136
137

138
xvii

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CONTENTS

Variance139
Asynchronous Methods
140
Calling EndInvoke Directly
Handling a Callback
Using Async and Await

140
141
144

Summary146
Exercises147
Chapter 7: Program Control Statements

Decision Statements

151

151

if-else Statements

switch Statements
Enumerated Values
Conditional and Null-coalescing Operators

Looping Statements

152
153
156
157

157

for Loops
157
Noninteger for Loops
159
while Loops
160
do Loops
161
foreach Loops
161
Enumerators163
Iterators164
break Statements
165
continue Statements
165

Summary166
Exercises166
Chapter 8: LINQ

169

Introduction to LINQ
Basic LINQ Query Syntax

171
173

from173
where174
orderby175
select175
Using LINQ Results
177

Advanced LINQ Query Syntax

178

join178
join into
179
group by
179
Aggregate Values
181

xviii

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CONTENTS

Set Methods
Limiting Results

182
183

Other LINQ Methods
LINQ Extension Methods

184
185

Method-Based Queries
Method-Based Queries with Lambda Functions
Extending LINQ

LINQ to Objects
LINQ to XML

185
187
188

189
189

XML Literals
LINQ into XML
LINQ out of XML

190
191
192

LINQ to ADO.NET

194

LINQ to SQL and LINQ to Entities
LINQ to DataSet

194
195

PLINQ198
Summary200
Exercises201
Chapter 9: Error Handling

Bugs Versus Undesirable Conditions
Catching Bugs
Code Contracts

Catching Undesirable Conditions
Global Exception Handling

try catch Blocks

205

206
206
209
213
216

220

Exception Objects
Throwing Exceptions
Rethrowing Exceptions
Custom Exceptions

223
224
226
227

Summary229
Exercises229
Chapter 10: Tracing and Debugging

231

The Debug Menu
232
234
The Debug ➪ Windows Submenu
The Breakpoints Window
235
The Immediate Window
237
Trace Listeners
238
Summary240
Exercises241
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CONTENTS

Part III: Object-Oriented Programming
Chapter 11: OOP Concepts

245

Classes245
Encapsulation248
Inheritance250
Inheritance Hierarchies
251

Refinement and Abstraction
252
Has-a and Is-a Relationships
257
Adding and Modifying Class Features
257
Hiding and Overriding
258
abstract261
sealed262

Polymorphism263
Summary266
Exercises266
Chapter 12: Classes and Structures

269

Classes270
attributes270
accessibility271
abstract | sealed | static
272
partial273

Structures275
Value Versus Reference Types
Memory Requirements
Heap and Stack Performance
Object Assignment

Parameter Passing
Boxing and Unboxing

275
276
277
277
277
281

Constructors282
Structure Instantiation Details
285
Garbage Collection
286
Destructors286
Dispose288

Events290
Declaring Events
Raising Events
Catching Events
Using Event Delegate Types
Using Static Events
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290
292

292
292
296


CONTENTS

Hiding and Overriding Events
Raising Parent Class Events
Implementing Custom Events

296
296
297

Static Methods
298
Summary300
Exercises301
Chapter 13: Namespaces

303

Collisions in .NET
The using Directive

304
304

Project Templates

Item Templates

307
309

The Default Namespace
311
Making Namespaces
311
Resolving Namespaces
313
The global Namespace
314
Summary315
Exercises315
Chapter 14: Collection Classes

317

Arrays318
Dimensions318
Lower Bounds
318
Resizing319
Speed320
Other Array Class Features
320

System.Collections321
ArrayList321

StringCollection324
NameValueCollection325

Dictionaries326
ListDictionary327
Hashtable328
HybridDictionary329
StringDictionary329
SortedList329

CollectionsUtil331
Stacks and Queues
331
Stack331
Queue333

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CONTENTS

Generic Collections
335
Collection Initializers
337
Iterators338
Summary339
Exercises340

Chapter 15: Generics

343

Advantages of Generics
Defining Generics

344
344

Generic Constructors
Multiple Types
Constrained Types
Default Values

345
346
348
352

Instantiating Generic Classes
352
Generic Collection Classes
352
Generic Methods
352
Generics and Extension Methods
353
Summary354
Exercises355

Part IV: Interacting with the Environment
Chapter 16: Printing

359

Windows Forms Printing
Basic Printing
Drawing Basics

359
360
365

WPF Printing

380

Using a Paginator
Creating Documents

381
385

Summary390
Exercises390
Chapter 17: Configuration and Resources

Environment Variables

393

394

Setting Environment Variables
Using System.Environment

394
395

Registry397
Configuration Files
402

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CONTENTS

Resource Files

405

Application Resources
Embedded Resources
Localization Resources

405
406

407

Summary408
Exercises408
Chapter 18: Streams

411

Stream412
FileStream414
MemoryStream415
BinaryReader and BinaryWriter
416
TextReader and TextWriter
418
StringReader and StringWriter
419
StreamReader and StreamWriter
421
Exists, OpenText, CreateText, and AppendText
422
Custom Stream Classes
423
Summary423
Exercises424
Chapter 19: File System Objects

Filesystem Permissions
.NET Framework Classes

425

426
426

Directory426
File428
DriveInfo430
DirectoryInfo431
FileInfo432
FileSystemWatcher434
Path436

Using the Recycle Bin

438

Using the FileIO.FileSystem Class
Using API Functions
Using Shell32.Shell

438
439
440

Summary443
Exercises444

xxiii

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