C# 4.0 Unleashed

References Versus Values

Struct is a fancy word for value type. Recall that value types are copied by value; every time an instance of a value type (sometimes abbreviated simply as value) is passed, a copy is created. This is in sheer contrast to reference types, where a reference to the object is passed along.

Let’s concretize matters by considering integral numeric values. Why are those value types? There are a couple of reasons. First, values have some kind of immutable characteristic: 1 is 1 and will always be. Although immutability is not a requirement for value types, not obeying it is asking for trouble, as you will see. This doesn’t mean a variable of a value type can’t change (after all, isn’t the point of a variable to vary?); all I’m ...