Chetu Interview Question

Constructor(s) in a class is/are special methods which get called automatically when an object of a class is created. Constructors are specially used to initialize data members. There are different types of constructors you can write in a class -

1. Default Constructor

2. Parameterized Constructor

3. Copy Constructor

4. Static Constructor

class SampleA

{

public SampleA()

{

Console.WriteLine("Sample A Test Method");

}

}

Default Constructor

When you do not declare any constructor, the class will call its default constructor which has a default public access modifier. The default constructor is a parameter less constructor which will be called by a class object.

Let's see an example of a Default Constructor -

public class Person {     private int m_PersonID;     private string m_FirstName, m_LastName, m_City;     public Person()     {         m_PersonID = 19929;         m_FirstName = "No First Name";         m_LastName = "No Last Name";         m_City = "No City";     } }

This default constructor will be executed whenever the class is initialized – Person p = new Person();

Note: If the class is abstract, then the accessibility of the default constructor is protected. Otherwise, the accessibility for the default constructor is public

Parameterized constructors

Now let’s see parameterized constructors. You can also call it as constructor overloading. Default constructors always initialize the objects with the same values. In case you want to initialize the class with different values, you can use Parameterized constructors.

public class Person {     private int m_PersonID;     private string m_FirstName, m_LastName, m_City;     public Person()     {         m_PersonID = 19929;         m_FirstName = "No First Name";         m_LastName = "No Last Name";         m_City = "No City";     }     public Person(string firstName,string lastName)     {         m_FirstName = firstName;         m_LastName = lastName;     } }

To invoke the parameterized constructor, use this Person p1 = new Person(“DotNet”, “Curry”);

Copy Constructor

Now let's see an example of Copy Constructor. Copy constructor is the parameterized constructor which takes a parameter of the same type. It allows you to initialize a new object with the existing object values.

public class Person {     private int m_PersonID;     private string m_FirstName, m_LastName, m_City;     public Person()     {         m_PersonID = 19929;         m_FirstName = "No First Name";         m_LastName = "No Last Name";         m_City = "No City";     }     public Person(string firstName,string lastName)     {         m_FirstName = firstName;         m_LastName = lastName;     }           //copy constructor     public Person(Person person)     {         m_PersonID = person.m_PersonID;         m_FirstName = person.m_FirstName;         m_LastName = person.m_LastName;         m_City = person.m_City;     } }

Here’s an example:

// Instance constructor. Person p1 = new Person(1, "DotNet", "Curry", "Pune"); // Copy Constructor Person p2 = new Person(p1);

Static Constructors

Static constructor is used to initialize the static data members of the class. Static constructor is only called once while creation of the first instance of the class. After that, no instance of a class will call the static constructor. You can also use static constructor to execute some code of the class which must be executed only once.

public class Person {     static Person()     {         //Static Members     } }

In inheritance, the calling of the constructor starts from the parent class.

Let's see how to use these constructors -

static void Main(string[] args) {     Person p1 = new Person();//This will call Default Constructor     Person p2 = new Person("Pravin", "D");//This will call two parameterized Constructor     Person p3 = new Person(p2);//This will call Copy Constructor }

It is worth mentioning that you can also create a private constructor, which is  generally used in classes that contain static members only. If you create a private constructor, you cannot create an instance of a class.

class Person {     // Private Constructor:     private Person() { }           ... }

I hope you got an idea of the different types of Constructors in C#. This question is frequently asked in interviews, so make sure to revise it before heading for your interview.