Introduction to C# Functions
C# Functions are the basic building blocks of code that have their unique signature, functions are used to execute the statements specified in the code of the block. There are several components in functions which follow as-
- To make a function call, we have a unique name called Function name.
- To specify the data type of return value we will use the Return Type.
- The block of statements which contains the executable statements called Body.
- We can pass the functions during the function call as a list of arguments called Parameters.
- To specify the accessibility of function in the application we can use the Access specifier.
Different C# Function
- without parameters(arguments) and without return type
- with parameters(arguments) but without return type
- Using with parameters(arguments) and with return type
- without parameters(arguments) and with the return value
C# Function Syntax
<access-specifier><return-type>FunctionName(<parameters>)
{
// function body
// return statement
}
In the above syntax, Return statements, parameters, and Access-specifier are optional.
| Functional Aspects | Syntax(Function) |
| With parameters and with return values |
Declaration: int display ( int );
Function call: display ( value ); Function definition: |
| With parameters and without return values |
Declaration: void display ( int );
Call: display (value); Function definition: |
| Without parameters and without return values |
Declaration: void display ();
Call: display (); Definition: |
| Without parameters and with return values |
Declaration: int display ( );
Call: display ( ); Definition: |
If the return value of a function is “void” then, it cannot return any values to the calling function.
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Note: If the return value of the function such as “int, double, float, string, etc” is other than void then, it can return values to the calling function
1. Using Without Parameters and Without Return Type
The function with no parameter and no return type, a function that does not return any of the value here we specified as void type as a return type value. In this program, there should not be passed any values to the function call Display() and also there are no values are returned from this function call to the main function. Let’s see the example with a function build without a return type and parameter,
Example
using System;
namespace FunctionSamples
{
class Program_A
{
// User defined function without return type and parameter
public void Display()
{
Console.WriteLine("Non Parameterized Function"); // No return statement
}
static void Main(string[] args) // Main Program
{
Program_A program = new Program_A (); // to create a new Object
program.Display(); // Call the Function
}
}
}
Output: Non-Parameterized Function
2. Using With Parameters (Arguments) and Without Return Type
In this program, a string is passed as a parameter to the function. The return type of this function is “void” and no values can be returned from the function. The value of the string is manipulated and displayed inside the function itself.
Example
using System;
namespace FunctionSample
{
class Program_B
{
public void Display(string value) // User defined function without return type
{
Console.WriteLine("Hello " + value); // No return statement
}
static void Main(string[] args) // Main function
{
Program_B program = new Program_B(); // Creating Objec
program.Display("Welcome to C# Functions"); // Calling Function
}
}
}
Output:
Hello Welcome to C# Functions`
3. Using With Parameters (Arguments) and with Return Type
In this program, a string is passed as a parameter to the function. The return type of this function is “string” and the return value of string can be returned from the function. The value of the string is manipulated and displayed inside the function itself.
Example
using System;
namespace FunctionsSample
{
class Program_C
{
// User defined function
public string Show(string message)
{
Console.WriteLine("Inside the Show Function Call");
return message;
}
// Main function
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Program_C program = new Program_C();
string message = program.Show("C# Functions");
Console.WriteLine("Hello "+message);
}
}
}
Output:
Inside the Show Function Call
Hello C# Functions
4. Using Without Parameters (Arguments) and with Return Value
In this program, there will be not passed any arguments or parameters to the function “calculate”, but to the main function, the values are returned from this calculate () function call. The variables a and b values are calculated in the function call “calculate” and in the main function sum of these values is returned as a result.
Example
using System;
namespace FunctionsSample
{
class Program_D
{
public void calculate()
{
int a = 50, b = 80, sum;
sum = a + b;
Console.WriteLine("Calculating the given to values: " +sum);
}
static void Main(string[] args) // Main function
{
Program_D addition =new Program_D();
addition.calculate();
}
}
}
Output:
Calculating the given to values: 130
C# Passing Parameters to Methods
When we creating a method with arguments/parameters in c#, we must pass arguments/parameters to that specified method when calling the function in our application. We have several ways to pass parameters to the method, let’s see the parameters/arguments
| Parameters | Description |
| Value Parameters | Value parameters are called the “input parameters”. Instead of the original parameters, the input parameters will pass a copy of the original value, due to that there will not be any cause or changes made to the parameter during the called method and it will not affect on original values while the control passes to the caller function. |
| Reference Parameters | Reference parameters are called the “input/output parameters”. The reference parameter will pass the reference memory of the original parameters. Due to that the changes/alteration made to the parameters in called method, while the control returns to the caller function it has an effect on the original values. |
|
Output Parameters |
It is an “output parameters”; these are like the reference type parameters. The only difference is there is no need to initialize it before passing the data. |
Conclusion:
In this article, we well-read the usage of the functions/ methods available in C# and also learned the different types of C# functions. I hope this article would have helped out you in understanding the several functional aspects in C#.
Recommended Article
This has been a guide to C# Functions. Here we discussed the Concepts and Some Types of C# functions with their syntax so that we can understand it better manner. You can also go through our other suggested articles to learn more –
