What is delegate in c#?| Delegate in c#| c# Delegate

What is delegate in c#?

 In C#, a delegate is a type that represents a reference to a method with a specific signature. Delegates provide a way to encapsulate a method call, and can be used to define callback methods, event handlers, and other types of extensible and flexible code.

To declare a delegate type, you use the "delegate" keyword followed by the return type and parameter list of the method that the delegate will reference. Here is an example of a delegate type that represents a method that takes two integers and returns an integer:

delegate int BinaryOperation(int a, int b);

In this example, we declare a delegate type called "BinaryOperation" that represents a method that takes two integers and returns an integer.

To create an instance of a delegate, you can assign a reference to a method that matches the delegate's signature. Here is an example:

int Add(int a, int b)

{

    return a + b;

}

BinaryOperation addDelegate = new BinaryOperation(Add);

In this example, we define a method called "Add" that takes two integers and returns their sum. We then create an instance of the "BinaryOperation" delegate type and assign a reference to the "Add" method using the constructor syntax.

To invoke a delegate, you use the delegate instance as if it were a method. Here is an example:

int result = addDelegate(2, 3);

Console.WriteLine(result); // outputs 5

In this example, we invoke the "addDelegate" instance as if it were a method, passing in two integer arguments. The delegate invokes the underlying method (in this case, the "Add" method), and returns the result.

Delegates are commonly used in C# to define callback methods, event handlers, and other types of extensible and flexible code. They provide a way to encapsulate a method call and pass it around as a first-class object, making it possible to create dynamic and extensible code that can be customized and extended at runtime.