Question

I noticed that in C# there are both a byte and Byte data type. They both say they are of type struct System.Byte and represent an 8-digit unsigned integer.

What are the differences (if any) between the two, and why you would use one over the other?

Answer 1

The byte keyword is an alias for the System.Byte data type.

They represent the same data type, so the resulting code is identical. There are only some differences in usage:

• You can use byte even if the System namespace is not included. To use Byte you have to have a using System; at the top of the page, or specify the full namespace System.Byte.

• There are a few situations where C# only allows you to use the keyword, not the framework type, for example:

.

enum Fruits : byte // this works
{
  Apple, Orange
}

enum Fruits : Byte // this doesn't work
{
  Apple, Orange
}

For detailed other alias, please follow the link.