Orcas - First try · Learn, Converse, Share

After reading a post by Scott Guthrie on the new C# Orcas language features I decided to download Orcas and try them out. (excited)

The new features I practiced with and love are:

Object initializers Example: Prior to Orcas:

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Person person = new Person();
person.FirstName = "Scott";
person.LastName = "Guthrie";
person.Age = 32;

Orcas:

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Person person = new Person { FirstName="Scott", LastName="Guthrie", Age=32 };

I personally like this because I like to have a constructor initializer for all my objects. That is no longer necessary. =)

Collection initilizers Orcas:

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List<Person> people = new List<Person>();

people.Add( new Person { FirstName = "Scott", LastName = "Guthrie", Age = 32 } );
people.Add( new Person { FirstName = "Bill", LastName = "Gates", Age = 50 } );
people.Add( new Person { FirstName = "Susanne", LastName = "Guthrie", Age = 32 } );

The new feature I played with that I’m still not to sure about is:

Automatic Properties Example: Prior to Orcas:

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public class Person {

    private string _firstName;
    private string_lastName;
    private int _age;

    public string FirstName {
      get {
          return _firstName;
      }
      set {
          _firstName = value;
      }
    }
    
    public string LastName {
        get {
            return _lastName;
        }
        set {
            _lastName = value;
        }
    }
    
    public int Age {
        get {
            return _age;
        }
        set {
            _age = value;
        }
    }
}

Orcas:

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public class Person {
    public string FirstName { get; set; }
    public string LastName { get; set; }
    public int Age { get; set; }
}

Guthrie’s post has links to Bart deSmart’s blog where he shows what happens under the covers for each of these features.

More to come.