What is the difference between char and Char? [duplicate]

Question

Possible Duplicate:
What is the difference between String and string

When I run:

char c1 = 'a';
Console.WriteLine(c1);

and when I run:

Char c2 = 'a';
Console.WriteLine(c2);

I get exactly the same result, a.

I wanted to know what is the difference between the two forms, and why are there two forms?

Answer 1

The result is exactly the same. Both represent the same type, so the resulting executables are completely identical.

The char keyword is an alias in the C# language for the type System.Char in the framework.

You can always use the char keyword. To use Char you need a using System; at the top of the file to include the System namespace (or use System.Char to specify the namespace).

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In most situations you can use either a keyword or the framework type, but not everywhere. For example as backing type in an enum, you can only use the keyword:

enum Test : int { } // works

enum Test : Int32 {} // doesn't work

(I use int in the example, as You can't use a char as backing type for an enum.)

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Related: Difference between byte vs Byte data types in C#

Answer 2

As far as I know, C# char type keyword is simply an alias for System.Char, so they refer to the same type.