C# Type Casting
C# Type Casting
Type casting is when you assign a value of one data type to another type.
In C#, there are two types of casting:
- Implicit Casting (automatically) - converting a smaller type to a larger type size
char->int->long->float->double
- Explicit Casting (manually) - converting a larger type to a smaller size type
double->float->long->int->char
Implicit Casting
Implicit casting is done automatically when passing a smaller size type to a larger size type:
Example
int myInt = 9;
double myDouble = myInt; // Automatic casting: int to double
Console.WriteLine(myInt); // Outputs 9
Console.WriteLine(myDouble); // Outputs 9
Explicit Casting
Explicit casting must be done manually by placing the type in parentheses in front of the value:
Example
double myDouble = 9.78;
int myInt = (int) myDouble; // Manual casting: double to int
Console.WriteLine(myDouble); // Outputs 9.78
Console.WriteLine(myInt); // Outputs 9
Type Conversion Methods
It is also possible to convert data types explicitly by using built-in methods, such as Convert.ToBoolean, Convert.ToDouble, Convert.ToString, Convert.ToInt32 (int) and Convert.ToInt64 (long):
Example
int myInt = 10;
double myDouble = 5.25;
bool myBool = true;
Console.WriteLine(Convert.ToString(myInt)); // convert int to string
Console.WriteLine(Convert.ToDouble(myInt)); // convert int to double
Console.WriteLine(Convert.ToInt32(myDouble)); // convert double to int
Console.WriteLine(Convert.ToString(myBool)); // convert bool to stringWhy Conversion?
Many times, there's no need for type conversion. But sometimes you have to. Take a look at the next chapter, when working with user input, to see an example of this.
