C#

What is an Abstract Class?

An abstract class is a special kind of class that cannot be instantiated. So the question is why we need a class that cannot be instantiated? An abstract class is only to be sub-classed (inherited from). In other words, it only allows other classes to inherit from it but cannot be instantiated. The advantage is that it enforces certain hierarchies for all the subclasses. In simple words, it is a kind of contract that forces all the subclasses to carry on the same hierarchies or standards.

What is an Interface?

An interface is not a class. It is an entity that is defined by the word Interface. An interface has no implementation; it only has the signature or in other words, just the definition of the methods without the body. As one of the similarities to Abstract class, it is a contract that is used to define hierarchies for all subclasses or it defines specific set of methods and their arguments. The main difference between them is that a class can implement more than one interface but can only inherit from one abstract class. Since C# doesn�t support multiple inheritance, interfaces are used to implement multiple inheritance.

Both Together

When we create an interface, we are basically creating a set of methods without any implementation that must be overridden by the implemented classes. The advantage is that it provides a way for a class to be a part of two classes: one from inheritance hierarchy and one from the interface.

When we create an abstract class, we are creating a base class that might have one or more completed methods but at least one or more methods are left uncompleted and declared abstract. If all the methods of an abstract class are uncompleted then it is same as an interface. The purpose of an abstract class is to provide a base class definition for how a set of derived classes will work and then allow the programmers to fill the implementation in the derived classes.

Type Casting

Converting an expression of a given type into another type is known as type-casting.

Implicit conversion

Implicit conversions do not require any operator. They are automatically performed when a value is copied to a compatible type

short a=2000;

int b;

b=a;



Explicit conversion

C++ is a strong-typed language. Many conversions, specially those that imply a different interpretation of the value, require an explicit conversion.



short a=2000;

int b;

b = (int) a; // c-like cast notation

b = int (a); // functional notation

sealed class

A sealed class cannot be inherited. It is an error to use a sealed class as a base class. Use the sealed modifier in a class declaration to prevent inheritance of the class.

sealed class MyClass

{

public int x;

public int y;

}