What are anonymous methods in C#?

Question

Could someone explain what anonymous methods are in C# (in simplistic terms) and provide examples in possible please

Answer 1

Anonymous methods were introduced into C# 2 as a way of creating delegate instances without having to write a separate method. They can capture local variables within the enclosing method, making them a form of closure.

An anonymous method looks something like:

delegate (int x) { return x * 2; }

and must be converted to a specific delegate type, e.g. via assignment:

Func<int, int> foo = delegate (int x) { return x * 2; };

... or subscribing an event handler:

button.Click += delegate (object sender, EventArgs e) {
    // React here
};

For more information, see:

• My article (written a long time ago) on delegate changes in C# 2
• MSDN on anonymous methods
• Chapter 5 of C# in Depth if you fancy buying my book :)

Note that lamdba expressions in C# 3 have almost completely replaced anonymous methods (although they're still entirely valid of course). Anonymous methods and lambda expressions are collectively described as anonymous functions.

Answer 2

Anonymous method is method that simply doesn't have name and this method is declared in place, for example:

Button myButton = new Button();
myButton .Click +=
delegate
{
    MessageBox.Show("Hello from anonymous method!");
};