C# Constructors
Constructors
A constructor is a special method that is used to initialize objects. The advantage of a constructor, is that it is called when an object of a class is created. It can be used to set initial values for fields:
Example
Create a constructor:
// Create a Car class
class Car
{
public string model; // Create a field
// Create a class constructor for the Car class
public Car()
{
model = "Mustang"; // Set the initial value for model
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Car Ford = new Car(); // Create an object of the Car Class (this will call the constructor)
Console.WriteLine(Ford.model); // Print the value of model
}
}
// Outputs "Mustang"
Note that the constructor name must match the class name, and it cannot have a
return type (like void or int).
Also note that the constructor is called when the object is created.
All classes have constructors by default: if you do not create a class constructor yourself, C# creates one for you. However, then you are not able to set initial values for fields.
Constructors save time! Take a look at the last example on this page to really understand why.
Constructor Parameters
Constructors can also take parameters, which is used to initialize fields.
The following example adds a string modelName parameter
to the constructor.
Inside the constructor we set model to modelName (model=modelName). When we call
the constructor, we pass a parameter to the constructor ("Mustang"), which will set the value of
model to "Mustang":
Example
class Car
{
public string model;
// Create a class constructor with a parameter
public Car(string modelName)
{
model = modelName;
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Car Ford = new Car("Mustang");
Console.WriteLine(Ford.model);
}
}
// Outputs "Mustang"
You can have as many parameters as you want:
Example
class Car
{
public string model;
public string color;
public int year;
// Create a class constructor with multiple parameters
public Car(string modelName, string modelColor, int modelYear)
{
model = modelName;
color = modelColor;
year = modelYear;
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Car Ford = new Car("Mustang", "Red", 1969);
Console.WriteLine(Ford.color + " " + Ford.year + " " + Ford.model);
}
}
// Outputs Red 1969 Mustang
Tip: Just like other methods, constructors can be overloaded by using different numbers of parameters.
Constructors Save Time
When you consider the example from the previous chapter, you will notice that constructors are very useful, as they help reducing the amount of code:
Without constructor:
prog.cs
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Car Ford = new Car();
Ford.model = "Mustang";
Ford.color = "red";
Ford.year = 1969;
Car Opel = new Car();
Opel.model = "Astra";
Opel.color = "white";
Opel.year = 2005;
Console.WriteLine(Ford.model);
Console.WriteLine(Opel.model);
}
}With constructor:
prog.cs
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Car Ford = new Car("Mustang", "Red", 1969);
Car Opel = new Car("Astra", "White", 2005);
Console.WriteLine(Ford.model);
Console.WriteLine(Opel.model);
}
}