What are the similar features between class and structure in .NET?

• Constructors, Properties, Methods, Fields, Enumerations, Constants, and Events are all eligible members of both Class as well as Structure. Each of these members of a Class or Structure can have its own access modifier. Even if a Class/Structure is public, you can make its member to be of private.

• Both Class and Structure are allowed to implement an interface. Here is an example to demonstrate it:
namespace Application1 {
public interface sampleInterface {
void displayMsg();
}
public class sampleClass : sampleInterface {
public void displayMsg() {
Console.WriteLine("Executing displayMsg from sampleClass");
}
}
public struct sampleStruct : sampleInterface {
public void displayMsg() {
Console.WriteLine("Executing displayMsg from sampleStruct");
}
}
public class testClass {
public static void Main() {
sampleClass classObj = new sampleClass();
classObj.displayMsg();
sampleStruct structObj = new sampleStruct();
structObj.displayMsg();
Console.ReadLine();
}

}
}
Output of this code will be:

Executing displayMsg from sampleClass
Executing displayMsg from sampleStruct

• Both Class and Structure contain a default constructor with no arguments. In the above example, you create instance of Class and Structure using the following lines of code:
sampleClass classObj = new sampleClass();
sampleStruct structObj = new sampleStruct();

When you specify new sampleClass() or new sampleStruct(), you are calling the default
no-argument constructor of Class/Structure.

• Unlike Class, you cannot explicitly define a no-argument constructor in a Structure. However both Structure and Class can define constructor with arguments as shown in the example below:

namespace Application1 {
public class sampleClass {
public sampleClass() {
Console.WriteLine(“Calling No-Argument Constructor of
sampleClass”);
}
public sampleClass(int data) {
Console.WriteLine("Constructor of sampleClass:{0}",data);
}
}
public struct sampleStruct {
public sampleStruct(int data) {
Console.WriteLine("Constructor of sampleStruct:{0}",data);
}
}
public class testClass {
public static void Main() {
sampleClass classObj = new sampleClass(100);
sampleStruct structObj = new sampleStruct(10);
Console.ReadLine();
}
}
}

Output of this code will be:

Calling No-Argument Constructor of sampleClass
Constructor of sampleClass:100
Constructor of sampleStruct:10

If you try to explicitly define a no-argument constructor for a Structure then you will end
up in the following error:

“Structs cannot contain explicit parameterless constructors”

• You can define and use events and delegates in Class as well as Structure.

• Both Class and Structure inherit from the class Object. Even though Structure is a value type, .NET provides unified type system based on which all value types and reference types have their base class as Object.

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