Question

Hi is it possible to specify a method that is the default method for a C# class? I am writing a short class to output embed code for a video, here is the basic idea:

 public class EmbeddedVideo
{
    public string VideoPath { get; set; }
    public string ImagePath { get; set; }

    public string EmbedCode()
    {
        return "...";
    }
}

Now if I were to say:

Response.Write(new EmbeddedVideo());

It would output the result of the GetType() method. How can I specify that I would like the EmbedCode() method to be the default in this context?

Answer 1

Override ToString(), which gets called in many scenarios where string conversion takes place:

public override string ToString()
{
    return EmbedCode();
}

The “default” you’re referring to is the default implementation of Object.ToString(), which simply happens to return the type name:

The default implementation returns the fully qualified name of the type of the Object.