Professional .NET 2.0 Generics

The power and elegance of generic types have long beenacknowledged. Generics allow developers to parameterize data typesmuch like you would parameterize a method. This brings a newdimension of reusability to your types without compromisingexpressiveness, type-safety, or efficiency. Now .NET generics makesthis power available to all .NET developers. By introducing genericconcepts directly into the Common Language Runtime (CLR), Microsofthas also created the first language-independent genericsimplementation. The result is a solution that allows generic typesto be leveraged by all the languages of the .NET platform. This book explores all aspects of the .NET genericsimplementation, covering everything from fundamental genericconcepts, to the elements of generic syntax, to a broader view ofhow and when you might apply generics. It digs into the detailsassociated with creating and consuming your own generic classes,structures, methods, delegates, and interfaces, examining all thenuances associated with leveraging each of these languageconstructs. The book also looks at guidelines for working withgeneric types, the performance gains achieved with generics, thenew generic container libraries (BCL and third party), and keyaspects of the underlying .NET implementation. For those transitioning from C++, the book provides an in-depthlook at the similarities and differences between templates and.NETgenerics. It also explores the syntactic variations associated withusing generics with each of the .NET languages, including C#,Visual Basic, J#, and C++.