C# in a Nutshell, Second Edition

Name

ValueType

Synopsis

This is the base class for all value types. A value type is a simple data structure, such as UInt32, or an enumeration. It is differentiated from a reference type (or object). Value types are stored on the stack rather than the .NET managed heap and are accessed directly rather than through a reference. Value types also behave differently from reference types, most notably in assignment operations (which create a copy of the data, not a duplicate reference to the same data) and comparison operations (which return true as long as the content of the two value types is the same). To define your own simple value types, use the struct keyword (use the enum keyword to define an enumeration). Value types are implicitly sealed.

public abstract class ValueType {
// Protected Constructors
   protected ValueType( );
// Public Instance Methods
   public override bool Equals(object obj);          
// overrides object
   public override int GetHashCode( );    
// overrides object
   public override string ToString( );    
// overrides object
}

Subclasses

Multiple types