Question

In C++ I can do this:

 int flag=0,int1=0,int2=1;
 int &iRef = (flag==0?int1:int2);
 iRef +=1;

with the effect that int1 gets incremented.

I have to modify some older c# code and it would be really helpful if I could do something similar, but I’m thinking … maybe not. Anybody?

Answer 1

You can do it – or at least something very similar to what you want – but it’s probably best to find another approach. For example, you can wrap the integers inside a simple reference type.

If you still want to do it, see the Ref<T> class posted by Eric Lippert here:

sealed class Ref<T>
{
    private readonly Func<T> getter;
    private readonly Action<T> setter;
    public Ref(Func<T> getter, Action<T> setter)
    {
        this.getter = getter;
        this.setter = setter;
    }
    public T Value { get { return getter(); } set { setter(value); } }
}

public class Program
{
    public static void Main()
    {
         int flag=0,int1=0,int2=1;

         Ref<int> iRef = (flag == 0 ?
            new Ref<int>(() => int1, z => { int1 = z; }) :
            new Ref<int>(() => int2, z => { int2 = z; }));

         iRef.Value += 1;

        Console.WriteLine(int1);
    }
}

Output:

1