CLR via C#, Fourth Edition

Chapter 5. Primitive, Reference, and Value Types

In this chapter:

Programming Language Primitive Types

Reference Types and Value Types

Boxing and Unboxing Value Types

Object Hash Codes

The dynamic Primitive Type

In this chapter, I’ll discuss the different kinds of types you’ll run into as a Microsoft .NET Framework developer. It is crucial for all developers to be familiar with the different behaviors that these types exhibit. When I was first learning the .NET Framework, I didn’t fully understand the difference between primitive, reference, and value types. This lack of clarity led me to unwittingly introduce subtle bugs and performance issues into my code. By explaining the differences between the types here, I’m hoping to save you some of the headaches ...