SH1803

More on Classes
I. Destructors
 A programming concept, along with constructors, that is commonly used for classes and
objects.
 They are automatically invoked when an object is destroyed or deleted (as opposed to how
constructors are invoked when an object is created).
 Their names are exactly the same as their parent class, except they are prefixed with a tilde
(~) before their name to denote that they are destructors.
 They can have the following attributes:
o ONLY one (1) destructor is allowed for a class.
o Destructors CANNOT be called, as they are invoked automatically.
o A destructor DOES NOT take modifiers or have parameters.

II. Static Members

 These are classes or method members (variable or another method) declared within a static
class or method; they belong to that class/method, instead of any specific instance (such as
an object).
 They use the static keyword on their declaration.
 No matter how many objects of the class are created, there is only one (1) copy of
the static member.

A. Static Methods
 They are methods that use the same concept as with static member variables; they also
use the static keyword for their declaration.
 These methods can only access static members. For example, the Main method and any
method called directly to it is automatically a static member.

B. Constant Members
 These are constant values (usually variables) that are used within static methods (such
as days of the week, the value of Pi, a generic greeting, etc.).
 These members are static by definition; the static keyword is replaced by the const
keyword in their declaration.

C. Static Constructors
 These are constructors declared with the static keyword.
 They can be used to initialize static members of a class.
 They are automatically called once when a static member of the class is accessed.

III. Static Classes

 These are classes that contain only static members.
 They cannot instantiate objects, as only one (1) instance of the static class can exist in a
program.
 These classes are useful for combining logical properties and methods. A good example of
this is the Math class, which contains various useful properties and methods for
mathematical operations.
 All members of the static class can be accessed using the static class’s name; objects need
not be declared to access them.

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A. Static Methods and Properties of the Math Class

 Math.PI returns the value the constant PI (π).
 Math.E represents the natural logarithmic base e.
 Math.Max() returns the larger value of its two (2) arguments.
 Math.Min() returns the smaller value of its two (2) arguments.
 Math.Abs() returns the absolute value of its argument.
 Math.Sin() returns the sine of the specified angle value.
 Math.Cos() returns the cosine of the specified angle value.
 Math.Pow() returns a specified number (first argument) raised to the specified power
(second argument).
 Math.Round() rounds a decimal number to its nearest integral value.
 Math.Sqrt() returns the square root of a specified number.

B. Static Methods for the Array Class

 The Array class is a static class in C# that allows array manipulation through its
methods:
o The Sort() class sorts an array’s elements in ascending order of their values.
o The Reverse() class sorts an array’s elements in descending order of their values.

C. Static Methods for the String Class

 The String class is a static class that allows string manipulation through its methods:
 The Concat() method combines any strings given as an argument and returns the
combined strings as a new string value.
 The Equals() method determines whether any strings given as argument is equal;
the method returns the Boolean value of True if the strings are equal and False if
they are not.

D. Static Properties for the DateTime Class

 The DateTime class is a static class that allows manipulation of date or time values via
its properties:
o The Now property returns the current date and time; these values are usually derived
from the computer’s system clock.
o The Today property returns the current day of the week.
o The DaysInMonth property returns the number of days in a specified month of a
specified year.

IV. this and readonly

A. The this Keyword

 It is a keyword used inside a class that allows the referral to the current instance (object)
of that class.
 This allows a program to distinguish class members from other data, such as local or
formal parameters of a method.

B. The readonly Keyword

 It is a modifier keyword that prevents a member of a class from being modified after
construction.
 The member can only be modified during declaration of from within a constructor.
 Attempting to modify the member with the keyword will return an error.

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C. Differences between readonly and const

 Members with the readonly keyword can be declared without an initialized value, while
constants (members with the const keyword) need to have an initialized value.
 Members with the readonly keyword can have their values changed in a constructor;
constants, on the other hand, cannot.
 readonly members can have evaluation values (values resulting from a calculation,
condition test, etc.); constants cannot.

V. Indexers
 A programming concept in C# that allows objects to be indexed similar to elements of an
array.
 It is written similar to a call statement for an array: a pair of square brackets ([ ])
containing the index number of the object.

A. Indexer Properties
 Indexers can be declared as something similar to a property, with the only difference
being that indexer get and set accessors require an index number.
 They are defined using the this keyword.
 Indexers return or set a particular value (compared to how a property returns or assigns
data members) from the object instance; this allows indexers to hold multiple values
like an array using fewer instantiated objects.

VI. Operator Overloading

 Most operators in C# can be overloaded, meaning they can be redefined for custom actions.
 This allows a programmer to change the actions of an existing operator in a custom class.
 This can be achieved via the operator keyword, directly followed by the operator symbol
whose actions will be changed.
 Similar to any other method, an overloaded operator has a return type for its updated
actions and a parameter list to define what actions must be done when the overloaded
operator is used.
 Finally, overloaded operators must be given a static access modifier in order for its updated
actions not to affect other operators in the program.

References
 Microsoft. (n.d.). Introducing Visual Studio.NET. Retrieved on May 8, 2018, from
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-uslibrary/fc6bk1f4(v=vs.71).aspx.
 SoloLearn. (n.d.). C# tutorial. Retrieved on July 17, 2018, from
https://www.sololearn.com/Course/CSharp/

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