explicit (C# Reference) 

The explicit keyword declares a user-defined type conversion operator that must be invoked with a cast. For example, this operator converts from a class called Fahrenheit to a class called Celsius:

// Must be defined inside a class called Farenheit:
public static explicit operator Celsius(Farenheit f)
{
    return new Celsius((5.0f/9.0f)*(f.degrees-32));
}

This conversion operator can be invoked like this:

Farenheit f = new Farenheit(100.0f);
Celsius c = (Celsius)f;

Remarks

The conversion operator converts from a source type to a target type. The source type provides the conversion operator. Unlike implicit conversion, explicit conversion operators must be invoked by means of a cast. If a conversion operation can cause exceptions or lose information, you should mark it explicit. This prevents the compiler from silently invoking the conversion operation with possibly unforeseen consequences.

Omitting the cast results in compile-time error Compiler Error CS0266.

For more information, see Using Conversion Operators (C# Programming Guide).

Example

The following example provides a Fahrenheit and a Celsius class, each of which provides an explicit conversion operator to the other class.

// cs_keyword_explicit_temp.cs
using System;
class Celsius
{
    public Celsius(float temp)
    {
        degrees = temp;
    }
    public static explicit operator Fahrenheit(Celsius c)
    {
        return new Fahrenheit((9.0f / 5.0f) * c.degrees + 32);
    }
    public float Degrees
    {
        get { return degrees; }
    }
    private float degrees;
}

class Fahrenheit
{
    public Fahrenheit(float temp)
    {
        degrees = temp;
    }
    public static explicit operator Celsius(Fahrenheit f)
    {
        return new Celsius((5.0f / 9.0f) * (f.degrees - 32));
    }
    public float Degrees
    {
        get { return degrees; }
    }
    private float degrees;
}

class MainClass
{
    static void Main()
    {
        Fahrenheit f = new Fahrenheit(100.0f);
        Console.Write("{0} fahrenheit", f.Degrees);
        Celsius c = (Celsius)f;
        Console.Write(" = {0} celsius", c.Degrees);
        Fahrenheit f2 = (Fahrenheit)c;
        Console.WriteLine(" = {0} fahrenheit", f2.Degrees);
    }
}

Output

100 fahrenheit = 37.77778 celsius = 100 fahrenheit

The following example defines a struct, Digit, that represents a single decimal digit. An operator is defined for conversions from byte to Digit, but because not all bytes can be converted to a Digit, the conversion is explicit.

// cs_keyword_explicit_2.cs
using System;
struct Digit
{
    byte value;
    public Digit(byte value)
    {
        if (value > 9)
        {
            throw new ArgumentException();
        }
        this.value = value;
    }

    // Define explicit byte-to-Digit conversion operator:
    public static explicit operator Digit(byte b)
    {
        Digit d = new Digit(b);
        Console.WriteLine("conversion occurred");
        return d;
    }
}

class MainClass
{
    static void Main()
    {
        try
        {
            byte b = 3;
            Digit d = (Digit)b; // explicit conversion
        }
        catch (Exception e)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("{0} Exception caught.", e);
        }
    }
}

Output

conversion occurred

C# Language Specification

For more information, see the following sections in the C# Language Specification:

• 6.2 Explicit conversions

See Also

Tasks

How to: Implement User-Defined Conversions Between Structs (C# Programming Guide)

Reference

C# Keywords
implicit (C# Reference)
operator (C# Reference)

Concepts

C# Programming Guide

Other Resources

C# Reference