Records

In C#, a record is a special type of class introduced in C# 9.0 that is designed to model immutable data. Unlike regular classes, records are intended to be more concise and automatically provide value-based equality, meaning that two record instances with the same data are considered equal.

Here are some key features of record:

Key Features:

1. Concise Syntax: Records use a more concise syntax to define data models.

2. Immutability: Properties in records are immutable by default.

3. Value-Based Equality: Records automatically provide value-based equality and comparison, unlike classes that use reference-based equality.

4. Deconstruction: Records support deconstruction to easily extract property values.

Example:

Here's a basic example of a record in C#:

csharp

public record Person

{

    public int ID { get; init; }

    public string FirstName { get; init; }

    public string LastName { get; init; }

    public string Address { get; init; }

}

//==============================

public record Person(string FirstName, string LastName);

//==============================

This defines a Person record with two properties, FirstName and LastName. You can create and use records like this:

csharp

public record Person(string FirstName, string LastName);

var person1 = new Person("John", "Doe");

var person2 = new Person("John", "Doe");

Console.WriteLine(person1 == person2); // Outputs: True (value-based equality)

Console.WriteLine(person1.FirstName); // Outputs: John

// Deconstruction

var (firstName, lastName) = person1;

Console.WriteLine(firstName); // Outputs: John

Console.WriteLine(lastName); // Outputs: Doe