out (C# Reference)

The out keyword causes arguments to be passed by reference. This is like the ref keyword, except that ref requires that the variable be initialized before it is passed. To use an out parameter, both the method definition and the calling method must explicitly use the out keyword. For example:

class OutExample
{
    static void Method(out int i)
    {
        i = 44;
    }
    static void Main()
    {
        int value;
        Method(out value);
        // value is now 44
    }
}

Although variables passed as out arguments do not have to be initialized before being passed, the called method is required to assign a value before the method returns.

Although the ref and out keywords cause different run-time behavior, they are not considered part of the method signature at compile time. Therefore, methods cannot be overloaded if the only difference is that one method takes a ref argument and the other takes an out argument. The following code, for example, will not compile:

class CS0663_Example
{
    // Compiler error CS0663: "Cannot define overloaded  
    // methods that differ only on ref and out." 
    public void SampleMethod(out int i) { }
    public void SampleMethod(ref int i) { }
}

Overloading can be done, however, if one method takes a ref or out argument and the other uses neither, like this:

class OutOverloadExample
{
    public void SampleMethod(int i) { }
    public void SampleMethod(out int i) { i = 5; }
}

Properties are not variables and therefore cannot be passed as out parameters.

For information about passing arrays, see Passing Arrays Using ref and out (C# Programming Guide).

Example

Declaring an out method is useful when you want a method to return multiple values. The following example uses out to return three variables with a single method call. Note that the third argument is assigned to null. This enables methods to return values optionally.

class OutReturnExample
{
    static void Method(out int i, out string s1, out string s2)
    {
        i = 44;
        s1 = "I've been returned";
        s2 = null;
    }
    static void Main()
    {
        int value;
        string str1, str2;
        Method(out value, out str1, out str2);
        // value is now 44 
        // str1 is now "I've been returned" 
        // str2 is (still) null;
    }
}

C# Language Specification

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

• 5.1.6 Output parameters

• 10.6.1.3 Output parameters

See Also

Concepts

C# Programming Guide

Reference

C# Keywords

Method Parameters (C# Reference)

Other Resources

C# Reference

Change History

Date	History	Reason
September 2008	Clarified text regarding method signatures and ref/out.	Customer feedback.