C# reference member variable

Question

In C#, is there a way to keep a reference as a member variable in an object (like an object pointer in C++), not just as a parameter?

EDIT: How can I make a pointer or reference to an object as a member variable?

Answer 1

For what its worth, you could use an array of size 1 as a reference/pointer. This yields more readable code than creating a new class to wrap a single value type member.

public struct StructWithReferenceMember
{
    private int[] intStoredAsReference;

    public StructWithReferenceMember(int asValue, int asReference)
        : this()
    {
        IntStoredAsValue = asValue;
        intStoredAsReference = new int[] { asReference };
    }

    public int IntStoredAsValue { get; set; }
    public int IntStoredAsReference
    {
        get { return intStoredAsReference[0]; }
        set { intStoredAsReference[0] = value; }
    }
}

A similar trick can be used to attempt the highly discouraged practice of using mutable structs.

public class ReferenceProperty<T>
{
    private T[] typeReference;

    public ReferenceProperty(T value)
    {
        typeReference = new T[] { value };
    }

    public T PropertyAsValue
    {
        get { return typeReference[0]; }
        set { typeReference[0] = value; }
    }
    public T[] PropertyAsReference
    {
        get { return typeReference; }
    }
}

Then use array notation to "dereference" it.

public struct MutableStruct
{
    public int member;

    public MutableStruct(int value)
    {
        member = value;
    }
}
        ReferenceProperty<MutableStruct> referenceToValueType = new ReferenceProperty<MutableStruct>(new MutableStruct(3));
        Console.WriteLine("original value: " + referenceToValueType.PropertyAsValue.member.ToString());

        //referenceToValueType.PropertyAsValue.member = 4; // compiler error - cannot modify return value because it is not a variable
        MutableStruct copyOfStruct = referenceToValueType.PropertyAsReference[0]; // or referenceToValueType.PropertyAsValue
        copyOfStruct.member = 4;
        Console.WriteLine("original value after modifying copy: " + referenceToValueType.PropertyAsValue.member.ToString());

        referenceToValueType.PropertyAsReference[0].member = 5;
        Console.WriteLine("original value after modifying reference: " + referenceToValueType.PropertyAsValue.member.ToString());

---

original value: 3
original value after modifying copy: 3
original value after modifying reference: 5