PassbyValue vs PassbyReference
In this article we are going to discuss about Pass by Value and Pass by Reference with examples in C#.
What is the difference between Pass by Value and Pass by Reference Parameters?
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Pass by Value - When you pass parameters by value, a copy of the actual value is passed to the method. Changes made to the parameter inside the method do not affect the original value. In this example, the value of a remains 5 after the method call.
public void Increment(int number) { number++; } static void Main() { int a = 5; Increment(a); Console.WriteLine(a); //Output:5 } -
Pass by Reference - When you pass parameters by reference, a reference to the actual memory location of the parameter is passed. Changes made to the parameter inside the method affect the original value. In this example, the value of a is changed to 6 after the method call.
public void Increment(ref int number) { number++; } static void Main() { int a = 5; Increment(ref a); Console.WriteLine(a); //Output:6 }
Differences
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Pass by Value
- A copy of the value is passed.
- Changes inside the method do not affect the original variable.
- Memory allocation for the parameter is separate from the original
variable.
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Pass by Reference
- A reference to the original variable is passed.
- Changes inside the method affect the original variable.
- Both the original variable and the method parameter point to the same memory location.
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