What is the difference between delegate in c# and function pointer in c++? [duplicate]

Question

Possible Duplicate:
are there function pointers in c#?

I'm interested in finding the difference between delegate in C# and function pointer in C++.

Answer 1

A delegate in C# is a type-safe function pointer with a built in iterator.

It's guaranteed to point to a valid function with the specified signature (unlike C where pointers can be cast to point to who knows what). It also supports the concept of iterating through multiple bound functions.

In C#, delegates are multi-cast meaning they can iterate through multiple functions. For example:

class Program {    delegate void Foo();     static void Main(string[] args)    {       Foo myDelegate = One;       myDelegate += Two;        myDelegate(); // Will call One then Two    }     static void One()    {       Console.WriteLine("In one..");    }     static void Two()    {       Console.WriteLine("In two..");    } } 

Answer 2

Delegates in C# can be either synchronous or asynchronous; C++ function pointers are synchronous unless you write your own multi-threading capability.

A pointer in C/C++ needn't refer to a full-blown object. C had function pointers and no object-oriented language support. Delegates are true function objects.