Use delegate in place of interface

Question

I read that you can use interfaces and delegates for the same purpose. Like, you can use delegates instead of interfaces.

Can someone provide an example? I've seen an example in the nutshell book but I fail to remember and wanted to ask away.

Is it possible to provide some sample code? Use case?

Thanks.

Answer 1

If your interface has a single method, then it is more convenient to use a delegate.

Compare the following examples:

Using an interface

public interface IOperation
{
    int GetResult(int a, int b);
}

public class Addition : IOperation
{
    public int GetResult(int a, int b)
    {
         return a + b;
    }
}

public static void Main()
{
    IOperation op = new Addition();
    Console.WriteLine(op.GetResult(1, 2));
}

Using a delegate

// delegate signature.
// it's a bit simpler than the interface
// definition.
public delegate int Operation(int a, int b);

// note that this is only a method.
// it doesn't have to be static, btw.
public static int Addition(int a, int b)
{
    return a + b;
}

public static void Main()
{
    Operation op = Addition;
    Console.WriteLine(op(1, 2));
}

You can see that the delegate version is slightly smaller.

Using anonymous methods and `Func` delegates

If you combine this with built-in .NET generic delegates (Func<T>, Action<T> and similar), and anonymous methods, you can replace this entire code with:

public static void Main()
{
    // Func<int,int,int> is a delegate which accepts two
    // int parameters and returns int as a result
    Func<int, int, int> op = (a, b) => a + b;

    Console.WriteLine(op(1, 2));
}

Answer 2

Delegates can be used in the same way as a single-method interface:

interface ICommand
 {
   void Execute();
 }

delegate void Command();