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Source Code

The GenericInterface project is located under the Chapter 10 subdirectory.

This wraps up our initial look at building custom generic types. In the next chapter, we will pick

up the topic of generics once again, when we examine the .NET delegate type.

Summary

This chapter began by examining the use of the “classic” containers found within the System.

Collections namespace. While these types will still be supported for purposes of backward compat-

ibility, new .NET applications will benefit from instead making use of the generic counterparts

within the System.Collections.Generic namespace.

As you have seen, a generic item allows you to specify “placeholders” (i.e., type parameters)

that are specified at the time of creation (or invocation, in the case of generic methods). Essentially,

generics provide a solution to the boxing and type-safety issues that plagued .NET 1.1 software

development. In addition, generic types by and large remove the need to build custom collection

types.

While you will most often simply make use of the generic types provided in the .NET base class

libraries, you are also able to create your own generic types. When you do so, you have the option of

specifying any number of constraints (via the where keyword) to increase the level of type safety and

ensure that you are performing operations on types of a “known quantity.”

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