Boxing (computer programming): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 23:06, 13 August 2010

Revision as of 11:31, 27 August 2010

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For a more concrete example, in Java, a {{Javadoc:SE|java/util|LinkedList}} can change its size, but an array must have a fixed size. One might desire to have a <code>LinkedList</code> of <code>int</code>s, but the <code>LinkedList</code> class only lists references to dynamic objects — it cannot list primitive types, which are value types.

To get aroundcircumvent this, <code>int</code>s can be boxed into <code>Integer</code>s, which are dynamic objects, and then added to a <code>LinkedList</code> of <code>Integer</code>s. (Using [[generic programming|generic]] parameterized types introduced in [[Java Platform, Standard Edition|J2SE]] 5.0, this type is represented as <code>LinkedList<Integer></code>.)

On the other hand, [[C Sharp (programming language)|C#]] has no primitive wrapper classes, but allows boxing of any value type, returning a generic <code>Object</code> reference.