Why Use in C#?

Question

Recently I came across the below code.

public interface IBlog<T>
{            
     void Add(T blog);
     IEnumerable<T> GetAll();
     T GetRecord(int id);
     void Delete(int id);          
}

What is T here? What is the purpose of using it?

read about `Generic`. Here: [Introduction to Generics](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms379564(v=vs.80).aspx) — John Woo, Jun 04 '13 at 06:15
Generics http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/512aeb7t(v=vs.110).aspx — BrunoLM, Jun 04 '13 at 06:16

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 04 '13 at 06:19

A simple example, you can have a method

T GetDefault<T>()
{
    return default(T);
}

and call

int zero = GetDefault<int>();

T in the method will be the type of an int.

In c# you have List<int> or List<string>, for example, this was implemented using generics, read more...

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 04 '13 at 06:19

What you are wondering about are Generics. Generics provide a nice dynamic way doing stuff. You may or may not be aware of this already, but List and Dictionary use generics.

List<Foo> foos = new List<Foo>(); //Means everything within that list will be of Foo type
List<Bar> bars= new List<Bar>(); //Again, means everything within that list will be of Bar type

Why Use in C#?

2 Answers2