Nullable types are instances of the System.Nullable<T> struct.
In C# 2.0 and above, you can store null value in any of your datatypes. But the datatype is little bit different.
We know that bool type will hold either true or false. But nullable bool will allow you to assign null also.
Characteristics:
Value Type
Nullable types represent value-type variables that can be assigned the value of null. You cannot create a nullable type based on a reference type. (Reference types already support the null value.)
Assign a value to a nullable type in the same way as for an ordinary value type, for example
int? i = 10;
double? d1 = 3.14;
bool? flag = null;
char? letter = 'a';
int?[] arr = new int?[10];
GetValueOrDefault
Use the System.Nullable.GetValueOrDefault property to return either the assigned value, or the default value for the underlying type if the value is null, for example
int x? = 10;
int j = x.GetValueOrDefault();
HasValue & Value
Use the HasValue and Value read-only properties to test for null and retrieve the value, for example
if (x.HasValue) j = x.Value;
The HasValue property returns true if the variable contains a value, or false if it is null.
The Value property returns a value if one is assigned, otherwise a System.InvalidOperationException is thrown.
The default value for a nullable type variable sets HasValue to false. The Value is undefined.
Conversions
Explicit Conversions:
A nullable type can be cast to a regular type, either explicitly with a cast, or by using the Value property. For example:
int? n = null;
//int m1 = n; // Will not compile.
int m2 = (int)n; // Compiles, but will create an exception if x is null.
int m3 = n.Value; // Compiles, but will create an exception if x is null.
Implicit Conversions:
The conversion from an ordinary type to a nullable type, is implicit.
int? n2;
n2 = 10; // Implicit conversion.
Operators
The predefined unary and binary operators and any user-defined operators that exist for value types may also be used by nullable types.
int? a = 10;
int? b = null;
a++; // Increment by 1, now a is 11.
a = a * 10; // Multiply by 10, now a is 110.
a = a + b; // Add b, now a is null.
?? operator
Use the ?? operator to assign a default value that will be applied when a nullable type whose current value is null is assigned to a non-nullable type.
Example 1
int? c = null;
// d = c, unless c is null, in which case d = -1.
int d = c ?? -1;
Example 2
int? e = null;
int? f = null;
// g = e or f, unless e and f are both null, in which case g = -1.
int g = e ?? f ?? -1;
Boxing Nullable Types
Keep in mind that nullable types are value types and can hold null values whereas Reference types hold null value by default.
Objects based on nullable types are only boxed if the object is non-null. If HasValue is false, the object reference is assigned to null instead of boxing. For example:
bool? b = null;
object o = b;
// Now o is null.
If the object is non-null -- if HasValue is true -- then boxing occurs, but only the underlying type that the nullable object is based on is boxed. Boxing a non-null nullable value type boxes the value type itself, not the System.Nullable<T> that wraps the value type. For example:
bool? b = false;
int? i = 44;
object bBoxed = b; // bBoxed contains a boxed bool.
object iBoxed = i; // iBoxed contains a boxed int.
The two boxed objects are identical to those created by boxing non-nullable types. And, just like non-nullable boxed types, they can be unboxed into nullable types, as in the following example:
bool? b2 = (bool?)bBoxed;
int? i2 = (int?)iBoxed;
Identifying Nullable Types
We can identify the nullable types using the following methods.
1. System.Type
2. System.Reflection
3. is operator
Using System. Type
We can use the C# typeof operator to create a Type object that represents a Nullable type:
System.Type type = typeof(int?);
Using System.Reflection
You can also use the classes and methods of the System.Reflection namespace to generate Type objects that represent Nullable types.
int? i = 5;
Type t = i.GetType();
Console.WriteLine(t.FullName); //"System.Int32"
The C# is operator also operates on a Nullable's underlying type. Therefore you cannot use is to determine whether a variable is a Nullable type.
static void Main(string[] args)
{
int? i = 5;
if (i is int) // true
{
//
}
}
As we quickly approach the dawn of a new year, here are my picks for the 101 most useful websites of the year 2010.