Beginning C# 2008 Objects: From Concept to Code

13.4. Object Self-Referencing with "this"

In client code, such as the Main method of a program, we declare reference variables with which to store references to objects:

Student s = new Student(); // a reference variable of type Student

and can then conveniently access the objects that these reference variables refer to by manipulating the reference variables themselves:

s.Name = "Fred";

When we're executing the code that comprises the body of one of an object's own methods, we sometimes need the object to be able to refer to itself—that is, to self-reference—as in this next bit of code:

public class Student
{
  Professor facultyAdvisor;
  // other details omitted

public void SelectAdvisor(Professor p) {
					// We're down in the "bowels" of the SelectAdvisor() ...