C# Generics: there is no way to constrain a type to have a static method?

Question

Could somebody kindly explain this to me, in simple words:

there is no way to constrain a type to have a static method. You cannot, for example, specify static methods on an interface.

many thanks in advance to you lovely people :)

Answer 1

With generics, you can add a constraint that means the generic-type supplied must meet a few conditions, for example:

• where T : new() - T must have a public parameterless constructor (or be a struct)
• where T : class - T must be a reference-type (class / interface / delegate)
• where T : struct - T must be a value-type (other than Nullable<TSomethingElse>)
• where T : SomeBaseType - T must be inherited from SomeBaseType (or SomeBaseType itself)
• where T : ISomeInterface - T must implement ISomeInterface

for example:

public void SomeGenericMethod<T>(T data) where T : IEnumerable {
    foreach(var obj in data) {
        ....
    }
}

it is SomeBaseType and ISomeInterface that are interesting here, as they allow you to demand (and use) functions defined on those types - for example, where T : IList gives you access to Add(...) etc. HOWEVER! simply: there is no such mechanism for things like:

• constructors with parameters
• static methods
• operators / conversions
• arbitrary methods not defined via a base-type or interface

so: you can't demand those, and you can't use them (except via reflection). For some of those dynamic can be used, though.