Constructors

C# supports the use of

class constructors

, which allow the state of an object to be

established at the time of creation. A constructor is a special method of a class that is called indirectly

when creating an object using the

new keyword. However, unlike a “normal” method,

constructors never have a return value (not even

void) and are always named identically to theclass they are constructing.

Every C# class is provided with a freebee

default constructor that you may redefine if need be. By

definition, a default constructor never takes arguments. Beyond allocating the new object into

memory, the default constructor ensures that all field data is set to an appropriate default value

Defining Custom Constructors

Typically, classes define additional constructors beyond the default. In doing so, you provide the

object user with a simple and consistent way to initialize the state of an object directly at the time

of creation

However, as soon as you define a custom constructor, the default constructor is

silently removed

from the class and is no longer available! Think of it this way: if you do not define a custom constructor,

the C# compiler grants you a default in order to allow the object user to allocate an

instance of your type with field data set to the correct default values. However, when you define

a unique constructor, the compiler assumes you have taken matters into your own hands.