C#: Const vs. readonly vs. static readonly comparison

In this article, we’ll see the different ways to hold constant or static values in C#.

const:

In C#, you can declare a const of any type as long as the value assigned can be fully evaluated at compile time. A constant member is defined at compile time and cannot be changed at runtime. Constants are declared as a field using the const keyword, and must be initialized along with its declaration as shown below:

  public class TestClass
  {
    public const double DaysInWeek = 7;
    public const string FullNameFormat = "Mr." + "{0} {1}";
    public const string FullNameFormatEmpty = string.Empty;  //Invalid because of string.Empty evaluated on runtime
  }

• Constants are Static by default, Constants are accessed as if they were static fields, and we can’t use static keywords with const.
• The constant cannot be changed in the application anywhere else in the code as this will cause a compiler error.
• Constants must be a value type (byte, short, ushort, int, uint, long, ulong, char, float, double, decimal, or bool), an enumeration.
• String and a reference to null are the two types of reference values that can be determined at compile time. So, any other reference type can be declared const as long as the value you assign to it is null – which turns out to be fairly useless.
• Must have compilation-time value (i.e.: you can have "A"+"B" but cannot have method calls)
• The scope of your constant is limited to just one assembly, class, or smaller unit. To use a constant outside of the class that it is declared in, you must fully qualify it using the class name.
• If the const is used outside the assembly it is defined in, we must be wary! Because the const’s value is substituted at compile time, this means that if the assembly that defines the const changes its value, but the calling assembly isn’t recompiled, then the calling assembly will still see the original value.
• Can be used in attributes
• Are copied into every assembly that uses them (every assembly gets a local copy of values)
• It could be declared within functions
• So const should be used mainly for values that are not subject to change, or free if the scope of the const is limited to the same assembly or smaller.
• Use const when: The constant is a compile-time value, and the constant's domain does not change or is limited in scope to a single assembly, class, or method.
• We can't use const with string.Empty value assigned as it’s evaluated on runtime.

readonly:

A readonly member is like a constant in that it represents an unchanging value. The difference is that a readonly member can be initialized at runtime, in a constructor as well as able to be initialized as they are declared as shown below.

  public class TestClass
  {
    public readonly double DaysInWeek = 7;
    public readonly int TotalMonths;

    public TestClass()
    {
      TotalMonths = 12;
    }
  }

• readonly members are not implicitly static, and therefore the static keyword can be applied to a readonly field explicitly if required.
• A readonly field can be initialized either at the declaration or in a constructor, readonly fields can have different values depending on the constructor used.
• Readonly can be applied to reference type since it's resolved at run-time; you can make struct and class instances readonly as well. For example:

  public class TestClass
  {
    public static readonly Point Point_Struct = new Point { X = 10, Y = 20 };
  }

• Since readonly fields are not limited to values that can be determined at compile-time, this means that they are not substituted where they are used at compile-time but are the same as other variable lookups. This means that you won't have a situation like with const where a class library can change a const and another assembly using it won't get the updated value.
• It must have a set value by the time constructor exits
• A readonly gives a level of safety higher than const for constants that are subject to change over time. So, things that are truly const (days per week, etc.) can be safely made const because they never, ever change. But things that may be constant now but could conceivably change in the future due to changes in requirement or policy should be made readonly instead, especially if they are visible from other assemblies.
• Because readonly fields are looked up at run-time, they are also slightly less efficient than compile-time const. But this performance gain is negligible and you should choose safety over performance.
• If your readonly field is a value type (primitive or struct) or is immutable (the type that can't be changed once assigned like string), that field will behave like a constant.
• Use readonly when the constant is a struct, a non-string, non-null class, cannot be determined at compile-time, or the constant is instance-level (instead of static).
• readonly is evaluated when the instance is created
• A readonly member can hold a complex object by using the new keyword at initialization.
• One final thing that makes readonly nice is that it can be applied to instance members as well as class (static) members. This means that you can provide a constant that applies to all instances of the class, or just to the current instance.

static readonly:

static readonly is similar to readonly, but it is used to declare a static field that can only be initialized once, either at the time of declaration or in a static constructor.

  public class TestClass
  {
    public static readonly Test testObj = new Test();
  }

• static readonly is typically used if the type of the field is not allowed in a const declaration, or when the value is not known at compile time.
• The difference is that the value of a static readonly field is set at run time, and can thus be modified by the containing class, whereas the value of a const field is set to a compile-time constant.
• Are evaluated when code execution hits class reference (i.e.: new instance is created or static method is executed)
• Must have evaluated value by the time the static constructor is done
• You do not want to put ThreadStaticAttribute on these (since the static constructor will be executed in one thread only and it will set value for its thread; all other threads will have this value uninitialized)
• In the static readonly case, the containing class is allowed to modify it only in the variable declaration (through a variable initializer) or in the static constructor (instance constructors, if it's not static)

Example: Showing declaration, usage, and explanation:

Here is an example of using const, readonly, and static readonly in C#:

In this example, MaxValue is a constant field with a value of 100, which cannot be modified. MinValue is a readonly field, which is initialized to 0 in the constructor and cannot be updated later.
Pi is a static readonly field with a value of 3.14159, which can only be initialized once and cannot be updated later.

In summary:

• const: Value can only be assigned at the time of declaration and cannot be modified later.
• readonly: Value can be assigned either at the time of declaration or in a constructor and cannot be modified later.
• static readonly: Same as readonly, but for a static field that can only be initialized once, either at the time of declaration or in a static constructor.

Cheers friend!!!

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Originally published at http://diary-techies.blogspot.com

Comments

[Vercidium]

I found readonly variables and in parameters had performance penalties, especially on structs. There's more info here: Avoiding Struct and Readonly Reference Performance Pitfalls

[Sandeep Kumar]

@vercidium - thanks for sharing.