Introduction to this keyword in C#

How Does this Keyword Work in C#?

We can consider ‘this’ keyword in C# as a pointer for the specific class. We can use it to describe a particular instance of a class. In C# programming, 'this' pointer performs particularly well for nonstatic features of the class as per its current instance and we can access its non-static members from the instance of the class.

'this' pointer cannot work for static members' functions and variables, as it endures at the class level. Hence we cannot access its instance.

In a particular scenario, we can instantly call the method externally using ‘this’ keyword, and it will automatically be added through the compiler. Hence we cannot use 'this' keyword explicitly.

Examples of this Keyword in C#

There are various techniques for using ‘this’ keyword in C#.

Example 1

Here, we can define the variables and  member functions of its current instance.

Code:

using System;

namespace Thiskeywords

{

class ThisKeywordDemo

{

//instance variable

public string Message;

public string CreateMessage()

{

return Message;

}

public void SetMessage(string Message)

{

//"this.Message" defines to instance variable (class member)

this.Message = Message;

}

}

public class program

{

public static void Main()

{

ThisKeywordDemo obj = new ThisKeywordDemo();

obj.SetMessage("Hello it's This keyword Example!");

Console.WriteLine(obj.GetMessage());

}

}

}

Output

Example 2

We can use ‘this’ keyword to describe the function or method in the corresponding class.

Code

using System;

namespace Thiskeywords

{

public class Employee

{

void PrintSalary()

{

//calling PrintSalary() method of same corresponding  class

this.PrintSalary();

Console.WriteLine("Salary: Rs.60000");

}

void PrintSalary()

{

Console.WriteLine("Name: XYZ");

Console.WriteLine("ID: 123XYZ);

}

public static void Main(String []args)

{

Employee empCls = new Employee();

emp.PrintSalary();

}

}

}

Output

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Example: 3

We can use the ‘this’ keyword to call a constructor in the corresponding class.

Code:

using System;

namespace keywordsExample

{

class StudentCls

{

// calling another constructor of the same class

public StudentCls() : this("TestName")

{

Console.WriteLine("This is the Parameterless Constructor of Student class");

}

//parameterized constructor

public StudentCls(string FirstName)

{

Console.WriteLine("This is the Parameterized constructor of Student class");

}

public void displayName()

{

Console.WriteLine("displayName() method of Student class");

}

}

public class program

{

public static void Main()

{

StudentCls stud = new StudentCls();

stud.displayName();

}

}

}

Output

Example 4

If a method accepts an object of the corresponding class as a parameter, then ‘this’ keyword can be applied as a parameter during the calling of that method.

Equivalently, a method can render the object of the corresponding class using ‘this’ keyword.

Code:

using System;

namespace keywordsTest

{

public class StudentCls

{

double marks;

//method taking an object of same class as parameter

void display(StudentCls stud)

{

Console.WriteLine("Marks of student of current class: "+stud.marks);

}

//method of a returning an object of same class

Student addGradeStundentMarks(double marks)

{

this.marks = marks + 5;

display(this);

return this;

}

public static void Main(String[] args)

{

StudentCls stud = new StudentCls();

stud = stud.addGradeStundentMarks(75);

}

}

}

Output

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Example 5

We can use the ‘this’ keyword for declaring the indexers

Code

using System;

namespace keywordsTest

{

public class countries

{

private string[] regions= new string[7];

//declaring an indexer

public string this[int index] {

get

{

return regions[index];

}

set

{

regions[index] = value;

}

}

}

public class SampleDemo

{

public static void Main()

{

Countries countries= new Countries();

countries[0] = "Asia";

countries[1] = "South Africa";

countries[2] = "North America";

countries[3] = "South America";

countries[4] = "Europe";

countries[5] = "Australia";

for (int i = 0; i < 6; i++)

{

Console.Write(countries[i]);

Console.Write("\n");

}

}

}

}

Output

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Conclusion

We hope this article helped you understand c# events. In this article, we discussed the concept of ‘this’ keyword code structure with different types of examples which will be helpful to professional developers from Java and .net backgrounds, application architectures, and other learners looking for information on JavaScript events.

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