Can I split my C# class across multiple files?

Question

I have a class that looks like this:

public static class ReferenceData {      public static IEnumerable<SelectListItem> GetAnswerType()     {         return new[]             {                 new SelectListItem { Value = "1", Text = "1 answer"  },                 new SelectListItem { Value = "2", Text = "2 answers" },                 new SelectListItem { Value = "3", Text = "3 answers" }             };     }      public static IEnumerable<SelectListItem> GetDatastore()     {         return new[]             {                 new SelectListItem { Value = "DEV", Text = "Development"  },                 new SelectListItem { Value = "DC1", Text = "Production" }             };     }     public static string GetDatastoreText(string datastoreValue)     {         return GetDatastore().Single(s => s.Value == datastoreValue).Text;     }     public static string GetDatastoreValue(string datastoreText)     {         return GetDatastore().Single(s => s.Text == datastoreText).Value;     }      // Lots more here     // Lots more here  } 

There's a lot more that I didn't show above.

Currently all of the class information is in one file. However I would like to split this into multiple files. Is there some way that I can spread the contents of the ReferenceData class across more than one file?

Answer 1

Yes, you can use partial classes. This allows you to split your class over multiple files.

File 1:

public static partial class ReferenceData {     /* some methods */ } 

File 2:

public static partial class ReferenceData {     /* some more methods */ } 

Use this feature carefully. Overuse can make it hard to read the code.