C#: Creating an instance of an abstract class without defining new class

Question

I know it can be done in Java, as I have used this technique quite extensively in the past. An example in Java would be shown below. (Additional question. What is this technique called? It's hard to find an example of this without a name.)

public abstract class Example {
   public abstract void doStuff();
}

public class StartHere{
   public static void main(string[] args){
      Example x = new Example(){
         public void doStuff(){
            System.out.println("Did stuff");
         }            
      };
      x.doStuff();
   }
}

Now, my main question would be, can this also be done in C#, and if so, how?

Answer 1

The Java technique is called "Anonymous inner class", and there is no equivalent in C#.

Answer 2

With lamba expressions and class initializers you can get the same behaviour with a bit of effort.

public class Example {
    public Action DoStuff;
    public Action<int> DoStuffWithParameter;
    public Func<int> DoStuffWithReturnValue;
}

class Program {
    static void Main(string[] args) {
        var x = new Example() {
            DoStuff = () => {
                Console.WriteLine("Did Stuff");
            },
            DoStuffWithParameter = (p) => {
                Console.WriteLine("Did Stuff with parameter " + p);
            },
            DoStuffWithReturnValue = () => { return 99; }


        };

        x.DoStuff();
        x.DoStuffWithParameter(10);
        int value = x.DoStuffWithReturnValue();
        Console.WriteLine("Return value " + value);
        Console.ReadLine();
    }
}

One problem with this solution that I just realized is that if you were to create fields in the Example class, the lambda expressions would not be able to access those fields.

However, there is no reason that you could not pass the instance of Example to the lambda expressions which would give them access to any public state that example might hold. AFAIK that would be functionally equivalent to the Java Anonymous Inner Class.

P.S. If you are going to vote an answer down, do us all a favour and add a comment as to why you disagree :-)

Answer 3

Typically, problems that are solved with anonymous inner classes in Java are solved in a much cleaner fashion using delegates in .Net. Your example is a little too simplistic to determine your intent. If your intent by using the abstract class is to pass around a "behavior" think about just using an Action delegate instead.

public class StartHere{
   public static void main(string[] args){
      Action doStuff = () => Console.WriteLine("Did stuff");
      executeSomething(doStuff);
   }

   public static void executeSomething(Action action)
   {
      action();
   }
}