Equivalent of typedef in C#

Question

Is there a typedef equivalent in C#, or someway to get some sort of similar behaviour? I've done some googling, but everywhere I look seems to be negative. Currently I have a situation similar to the following:

class GenericClass<T> 
{
    public event EventHandler<EventData> MyEvent;
    public class EventData : EventArgs { /* snip */ }
    // ... snip
}

Now, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that this can very quickly lead to a lot of typing (apologies for the horrible pun) when trying to implement a handler for that event. It'd end up being something like this:

GenericClass<int> gcInt = new GenericClass<int>;
gcInt.MyEvent += new EventHandler<GenericClass<int>.EventData>(gcInt_MyEvent);
// ...

private void gcInt_MyEvent(object sender, GenericClass<int>.EventData e)
{
    throw new NotImplementedException();
}

Except, in my case, I was already using a complex type, not just an int. It'd be nice if it were possible to simplify this a little...

Edit: ie. perhaps typedefing the EventHandler instead of needing to redefine it to get similar behaviour.

Answer 1

No, there's no true equivalent of typedef. You can use 'using' directives within one file, e.g.

using CustomerList = System.Collections.Generic.List<Customer>;

but that will only impact that source file. In C and C++, my experience is that typedef is usually used within .h files which are included widely - so a single typedef can be used over a whole project. That ability does not exist in C#, because there's no #include functionality in C# that would allow you to include the using directives from one file in another.

Fortunately, the example you give does have a fix - implicit method group conversion. You can change your event subscription line to just:

gcInt.MyEvent += gcInt_MyEvent;

:)

Answer 2

Jon really gave a nice solution, I didn't know you could do that!

At times what I resorted to was inheriting from the class and creating its constructors. E.g.

public class FooList : List<Foo> { ... }

Not the best solution (unless your assembly gets used by other people), but it works.

Answer 3

If you know what you're doing, you can define a class with implicit operators to convert between the alias class and the actual class.

class TypedefString // Example with a string "typedef"
{
    private string Value = "";
    public static implicit operator string(TypedefString ts)
    {
        return ((ts == null) ? null : ts.Value);
    }
    public static implicit operator TypedefString(string val)
    {
        return new TypedefString { Value = val };
    }
}

I don't actually endorse this and haven't ever used something like this, but this could probably work for some specific circumstances.

Answer 4

Both C++ and C# are missing easy ways to create a new type which is semantically identical to an exisiting type. I find such 'typedefs' totally essential for type-safe programming and its a real shame c# doesn't have them built-in. The difference between void f(string connectionID, string username) to void f(ConID connectionID, UserName username) is obvious ...

(You can achieve something similar in C++ with boost in BOOST_STRONG_TYPEDEF)

It may be tempting to use inheritance but that has some major limitations:

• it will not work for primitive types
• the derived type can still be casted to the original type, ie we can send it to a function receiving our original type, this defeats the whole purpose
• we cannot derive from sealed classes (and ie many .NET classes are sealed)

The only way to achieve a similar thing in C# is by composing our type in a new class:

class SomeType { 
  public void Method() { .. }
}

sealed class SomeTypeTypeDef {
  public SomeTypeTypeDef(SomeType composed) { this.Composed = composed; }

  private SomeType Composed { get; }

  public override string ToString() => Composed.ToString();
  public override int GetHashCode() => HashCode.Combine(Composed);
  public override bool Equals(object obj) => obj is TDerived o && Composed.Equals(o.Composed); 
  public bool Equals(SomeTypeTypeDefo) => object.Equals(this, o);

  // proxy the methods we want
  public void Method() => Composed.Method();
}

While this will work it is very verbose for just a typedef. In addition we have a problem with serializing (ie to Json) as we want to serialize the class through its Composed property.

Below is a helper class that uses the "Curiously Recurring Template Pattern" to make this much simpler:

namespace Typedef {

  [JsonConverter(typeof(JsonCompositionConverter))]
  public abstract class Composer<TDerived, T> : IEquatable<TDerived> where TDerived : Composer<TDerived, T> {
    protected Composer(T composed) { this.Composed = composed; }
    protected Composer(TDerived d) { this.Composed = d.Composed; }

    protected T Composed { get; }

    public override string ToString() => Composed.ToString();
    public override int GetHashCode() => HashCode.Combine(Composed);
    public override bool Equals(object obj) => obj is Composer<TDerived, T> o && Composed.Equals(o.Composed); 
    public bool Equals(TDerived o) => object.Equals(this, o);
  }

  class JsonCompositionConverter : JsonConverter {
    static FieldInfo GetCompositorField(Type t) {
      var fields = t.BaseType.GetFields(BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.NonPublic | BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.FlattenHierarchy);
      if (fields.Length!=1) throw new JsonSerializationException();
      return fields[0];
    }

    public override bool CanConvert(Type t) {
      var fields = t.GetFields(BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.NonPublic | BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.FlattenHierarchy);
      return fields.Length == 1;
    }

    // assumes Compositor<T> has either a constructor accepting T or an empty constructor
    public override object ReadJson(JsonReader reader, Type objectType, object existingValue, JsonSerializer serializer) {
      while (reader.TokenType == JsonToken.Comment && reader.Read()) { };
      if (reader.TokenType == JsonToken.Null) return null; 
      var compositorField = GetCompositorField(objectType);
      var compositorType = compositorField.FieldType;
      var compositorValue = serializer.Deserialize(reader, compositorType);
      var ctorT = objectType.GetConstructor(new Type[] { compositorType });
      if (!(ctorT is null)) return Activator.CreateInstance(objectType, compositorValue);
      var ctorEmpty = objectType.GetConstructor(new Type[] { });
      if (ctorEmpty is null) throw new JsonSerializationException();
      var res = Activator.CreateInstance(objectType);
      compositorField.SetValue(res, compositorValue);
      return res;
    }

    public override void WriteJson(JsonWriter writer, object o, JsonSerializer serializer) {
      var compositorField = GetCompositorField(o.GetType());
      var value = compositorField.GetValue(o);
      serializer.Serialize(writer, value);
    }
  }

}

With Composer the above class becomes simply:

sealed Class SomeTypeTypeDef : Composer<SomeTypeTypeDef, SomeType> {
   public SomeTypeTypeDef(SomeType composed) : base(composed) {}

   // proxy the methods we want
   public void Method() => Composed.Method();
}

And in addition the SomeTypeTypeDef will serialize to Json in the same way that SomeType does.

Hope this helps !

Answer 5

With C# 10 you can now do

global using Bar = Foo

Which works like a typedef within the project.

I haven't tested it in depth, so there might be quirks.

I'm using it like

global using DateTime = DontUseDateTime

Where DontUseDateTime is a struct marked Obsolete, to force people to use NodaTime.

Answer 6

I think there is no typedef. You could only define a specific delegate type instead of the generic one in the GenericClass, i.e.

public delegate GenericHandler EventHandler<EventData>

This would make it shorter. But what about the following suggestion:

Use Visual Studio. This way, when you typed

gcInt.MyEvent += 

it already provides the complete event handler signature from Intellisense. Press TAB and it's there. Accept the generated handler name or change it, and then press TAB again to auto-generate the handler stub.

Answer 7

C# supports some inherited covariance for event delegates, so a method like this:

void LowestCommonHander( object sender, EventArgs e ) { ... } 

Can be used to subscribe to your event, no explicit cast required

gcInt.MyEvent += LowestCommonHander;

You can even use lambda syntax and the intellisense will all be done for you:

gcInt.MyEvent += (sender, e) =>
{
    e. //you'll get correct intellisense here
};

Answer 8

You can use an open source library and NuGet package called LikeType that I created that will give you the GenericClass<int> behavior that you're looking for.

The code would look like:

public class SomeInt : LikeType<int>
{
    public SomeInt(int value) : base(value) { }
}

[TestClass]
public class HashSetExample
{
    [TestMethod]
    public void Contains_WhenInstanceAdded_ReturnsTrueWhenTestedWithDifferentInstanceHavingSameValue()
    {
        var myInt = new SomeInt(42);
        var myIntCopy = new SomeInt(42);
        var otherInt = new SomeInt(4111);

        Assert.IsTrue(myInt == myIntCopy);
        Assert.IsFalse(myInt.Equals(otherInt));

        var mySet = new HashSet<SomeInt>();
        mySet.Add(myInt);

        Assert.IsTrue(mySet.Contains(myIntCopy));
    }
}

Answer 9

Here is the code for it, enjoy!, I picked that up from the dotNetReference type the "using" statement inside the namespace line 106 http://referencesource.microsoft.com/#mscorlib/microsoft/win32/win32native.cs

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
namespace UsingStatement
{
    using Typedeffed = System.Int32;
    using TypeDeffed2 = List<string>;
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
        Typedeffed numericVal = 5;
        Console.WriteLine(numericVal++);

        TypeDeffed2 things = new TypeDeffed2 { "whatever"};
        }
    }
}

Answer 10

I'd do

using System.Collections.Generic;
global using CustomerList = List<Customer>;

Answer 11

For non-sealed classes simply inherit from them:

public class Vector : List<int> { }

But for sealed classes it's possible to simulate typedef behavior with such base class:

public abstract class Typedef<T, TDerived> where TDerived : Typedef<T, TDerived>, new()
{
    private T _value;

    public static implicit operator T(Typedef<T, TDerived> t)
    {
        return t == null ? default : t._value;
    }

    public static implicit operator Typedef<T, TDerived>(T t)
    {
        return t == null ? default : new TDerived { _value = t };
    }
}

// Usage examples

class CountryCode : Typedef<string, CountryCode> { }
class CurrencyCode : Typedef<string, CurrencyCode> { }
class Quantity : Typedef<int, Quantity> { }

void Main()
{
    var canadaCode = (CountryCode)"CA";
    var canadaCurrency = (CurrencyCode)"CAD";
    CountryCode cc = canadaCurrency;        // Compilation error
    Concole.WriteLine(canadaCode == "CA");  // true
    Concole.WriteLine(canadaCurrency);      // CAD

    var qty = (Quantity)123;
    Concole.WriteLine(qty);                 // 123
}

Answer 12

The best alternative to typedef that I've found in C# is using. For example, I can control float precision via compiler flags with this code:

#if REAL_T_IS_DOUBLE
using real_t = System.Double;
#else
using real_t = System.Single;
#endif

Unfortunately, it requires that you place this at the top of every file where you use real_t. There is currently no way to declare a global namespace type in C#.

Answer 13

Since the introduction of C# 10.0, we now have the global using directive.

global using CustomerList = System.Collections.Generic.List<Customer>;

This introduces CustomerList as alias of List<Customer> on a global scope (throughout the whole project and all references to it).

Though I would have liked to be able to limit its scope (say for instance 'internal using') this does actually do a terrific job of fulfilling a typedef variant in C#.