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 Fahrenheit:
public static explicit operator Celsius(Fahrenheit fahr)
{
return new Celsius((5.0f / 9.0f) * (fahr.degrees - 32));
}
This conversion operator can be invoked like this:
Fahrenheit fahr = new Fahrenheit(100.0f);
Console.Write("{0} Fahrenheit", fahr.Degrees);
Celsius c = (Celsius)fahr;
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 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.
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;
}
// Must be defined inside a class called Fahrenheit:
public static explicit operator Celsius(Fahrenheit fahr)
{
return new Celsius((5.0f / 9.0f) * (fahr.degrees - 32));
}
public float Degrees
{
get { return degrees; }
}
private float degrees;
}
class MainClass
{
static void Main()
{
Fahrenheit fahr = new Fahrenheit(100.0f);
Console.Write("{0} Fahrenheit", fahr.Degrees);
Celsius c = (Celsius)fahr;
Console.Write(" = {0} Celsius", c.Degrees);
Fahrenheit fahr2 = (Fahrenheit)c;
Console.WriteLine(" = {0} Fahrenheit", fahr2.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.
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 ExplicitTest
{
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 C# Language Specification. The language specification is the definitive source for C# syntax and usage.
See Also
Tasks
How to: Implement User-Defined Conversions Between Structs (C# Programming Guide)