This print for content only-size & color not accurate 7" X 9-1/4" / casebound / malloy

Classes, Objects, and References

To frame the topics examined in this chapter, it is important to further clarify the distinction

between classes, objects, and references. Recall that a class is nothing more than a blueprint that

describes how an instance of this type will look and feel in memory. Classes, of course, are defined

within a code file (which in C# takes a *.cs extension by convention). Consider a simple Car class

defined within a new C# Console Application project named SimpleGC:

// Car.cs

public class Car

{

private int currSp;

private string petName;

public Car(){}

public Car(string name, int speed)

{

petName = name;

currSp = speed;

}

public override string ToString()

{

return string.Format("{0} is going {1} MPH",

petName, currSp);

}

}

245

C H A P T E R   8

8849CH08.qxd  10/22/07  1:27 PM  Page 245

---

Once a class is defined, you can allocate any number of objects using the C# new keyword.

Understand, however, that the new keyword returns a reference to the object on the heap, not the

actual object itself. This reference variable is stored on the stack for further use in your application.

When you wish to invoke members on the object, apply the C# dot operator to the stored reference:

class Program

{

static void Main(string[] args)

{