Class Of<T>

Abstract base class for defining types that alias an existing type.

Inheritance
Object
Of<T>
Implements
Inherited Members
Namespace: Recore
Assembly: Recore.dll
Syntax
[JsonConverter(typeof(OfConverter))]
public abstract class Of<T> : IEquatable<Of<T>>
Type Parameters
Name Description
T
Remarks

Use Of<T> to create a strongly-typed "alias" of another type.

You can use a using directive to create an alias for a type, but the scope of that alias is limited to that file. Furthermore, the alias is just that -- an alias -- not a separate type. So, an alias won't prevent errors like this:

using Name = string;
using Address = string;
class Person
{
    public Person(int age, Address address, Name name)
    {
    }
}

var person = new Person(22, "Alice", "1 Microsoft Way"); // oops!

Note: as of C# 9, you can replace many use cases for Of<T> with record types:

record Address(string Value);
record Name(string Value);

Of<T> is not marked with ObsoleteAttribute because records have some limitations that classes do not have. Also, Of<T> provides easy JSON serialization and implicit conversion to its wrapped type, which records do not provide.

Examples
class Address : Of<string> {}

var address = new Address { Value = "1 Microsoft Way" };
Console.WriteLine(address); // prints "1 Microsoft Way"

var address2 = new Address { Value = "1 Microsoft Way" };
Console.WriteLine(address == address2); // prints "true"

You can add OfJsonAttribute so that the type is serialized in the same was as the T type:

using System.Text.Json;

[OfJson(typeof(JsonAddress), typeof(string))]
class JsonAddress : Of<string> {}

var jsonAddress = new JsonAddress { Value = "1 Microsoft Way" };
Console.WriteLine(JsonSerializer.Serialize(address)); // {"value":"1 Microsoft Way"}
Console.WriteLine(JsonSerializer.Serialize(jsonAddress)); // "1 Microsoft Way"

Properties

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Value

The underlying instance of the wrapped type.

Declaration
public T Value { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
T

Methods

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Equals(Of<T>)

Determines whether two instances of the type are equal.

Declaration
public bool Equals(Of<T> other)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Of<T> other
Returns
Type Description
Boolean
Remarks

Note that instances of two separate subtypes of Of<T> will compare equal to each other if their values are the same type and are equal.

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Equals(Object)

Determines whether this instance is equal to another object.

Declaration
public override bool Equals(object obj)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Object obj
Returns
Type Description
Boolean
Overrides
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GetHashCode()

Returns the hash code for the underlying object.

Declaration
public override int GetHashCode()
Returns
Type Description
Int32
Overrides
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To<TOf>()

Converts this Of<T> to another subtype of Of<T> with the same value of T.

Declaration
public TOf To<TOf>()
    where TOf : Of<T>, new()
Returns
Type Description
TOf
Type Parameters
Name Description
TOf
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ToString()

Returns the string representation for the underlying object.

Declaration
public override string ToString()
Returns
Type Description
String
Overrides

Operators

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Equality(Of<T>, Of<T>)

Determines whether two instances of the type are equal.

Declaration
public static bool operator ==(Of<T> lhs, Of<T> rhs)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Of<T> lhs
Of<T> rhs
Returns
Type Description
Boolean
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Implicit(Of<T> to T)

Converts an instance of Of<T> to its inner type T.

Declaration
public static implicit operator T(Of<T> of)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Of<T> of
Returns
Type Description
T
Remarks

Of<T> is conceptually (though not in fact) a subtype of T. This conversion allows instances of Of<T> to work with methods out of the caller's control.

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Inequality(Of<T>, Of<T>)

Determines whether two instances of the type are not equal.

Declaration
public static bool operator !=(Of<T> lhs, Of<T> rhs)
Parameters
Type Name Description
Of<T> lhs
Of<T> rhs
Returns
Type Description
Boolean

Implements

Extension Methods