What does "where T : class, new()" mean?
Those are generic type constraints. In your case there are two of them:
where T : class
Means that the type T
must be a reference type (not a value type).
where T : new()
Means that the type T
must have a parameter-less constructor. Having this constraint will allow you to do something like T field = new T();
in your code which you wouldn't be able to do otherwise.
You then combine the two using a comma to get:
where T : class, new()
where T : struct
The type argument must be a value type. Any value type except Nullable can be specified. See Using Nullable Types (C# Programming Guide) for more information.
where T : class
The type argument must be a reference type, including any class, interface, delegate, or array type. (See note below.)
where T : new() The type argument must have a public parameterless constructor. When used in conjunction with other constraints, the new() constraint must be specified last.
where T : [base class name]
The type argument must be or derive from the specified base class.
where T : [interface name]
The type argument must be or implement the specified interface. Multiple interface constraints can be specified. The constraining interface can also be generic.
where T : U
The type argument supplied for T must be or derive from the argument supplied for U. This is called a naked type constraint.
(Original Source: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/programming-guide/generics/constraints-on-type-parameters)
class
& new
are 2 constraints on the generic type parameter T
.
Respectively they ensure:
class
The type argument must be a reference type; this applies also to any class, interface, delegate, or array type.
new
The type argument must have a public parameterless constructor. When used together with other constraints, the new() constraint must be specified last.
Their combination means that the type T
must be a Reference Type (can't be a Value Type), and must have a parameterless constructor.
Example:
struct MyStruct { } // structs are value types
class MyClass1 { } // no constructors defined, so the class implicitly has a parameterless one
class MyClass2 // parameterless constructor explicitly defined
{
public MyClass2() { }
}
class MyClass3 // only non-parameterless constructor defined
{
public MyClass3(object parameter) { }
}
class MyClass4 // both parameterless & non-parameterless constructors defined
{
public MyClass4() { }
public MyClass4(object parameter) { }
}
interface INewable<T>
where T : new()
{
}
interface INewableReference<T>
where T : class, new()
{
}
class Checks
{
INewable<int> cn1; // ALLOWED: has parameterless ctor
INewable<string> n2; // NOT ALLOWED: no parameterless ctor
INewable<MyStruct> n3; // ALLOWED: has parameterless ctor
INewable<MyClass1> n4; // ALLOWED: has parameterless ctor
INewable<MyClass2> n5; // ALLOWED: has parameterless ctor
INewable<MyClass3> n6; // NOT ALLOWED: no parameterless ctor
INewable<MyClass4> n7; // ALLOWED: has parameterless ctor
INewableReference<int> nr1; // NOT ALLOWED: not a reference type
INewableReference<string> nr2; // NOT ALLOWED: no parameterless ctor
INewableReference<MyStruct> nr3; // NOT ALLOWED: not a reference type
INewableReference<MyClass1> nr4; // ALLOWED: has parameterless ctor
INewableReference<MyClass2> nr5; // ALLOWED: has parameterless ctor
INewableReference<MyClass3> nr6; // NOT ALLOWED: no parameterless ctor
INewableReference<MyClass4> nr7; // ALLOWED: has parameterless ctor
}
That is a constraint on the generic parameter T
. It must be a class
(reference type) and must have a public parameter-less default constructor.
That means T
can't be an int
, float
, double
, DateTime
or any other struct
(value type).
It could be a string
, or any other custom reference type, as long as it has a default or parameter-less constructor.