Why Does C# String Behavior Seem to Contradict Its Reference Type Nature?

Why don’t C# strings work like reference types in some cases?

Although string is defined as a reference type in C#, it behaves differently in certain code scenarios. Consider the following code:

<code class="language-csharp">class Test
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        string test = "传递前";
        Console.WriteLine(test);
        TestI(test);
        Console.WriteLine(test);
    }

    public static void TestI(string test)
    {
        test = "传递后";
    }
}</code>

The expected output of this code is "before passing" and "after passing", reflecting the reference nature of strings. However, the actual output is that both lines are "pass before", indicating that it is passed by value rather than by reference.

The reason for this difference is the way references are handled in C#. The string type is indeed a reference type, but when a reference is passed as a parameter to a method, it is passed by value. This means that a copy of the reference is created rather than a reference to the original value.

If you want to pass a string by reference, you must use the "ref" keyword:

<code class="language-csharp">public static void TestI(ref string test)</code>

This ensures that the method receives a reference to the original string, allowing modifications made within the method to be reflected in the calling code.

It is important to distinguish between changing the value of a referenced object and changing the reference itself. Strings are immutable and cannot be modified, but references can be reassigned to different strings.

To demonstrate more clearly, let's use a different example involving a mutable type, StringBuilder:

<code class="language-csharp">using System.Text;

class Test
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        StringBuilder test = new StringBuilder();
        Console.WriteLine(test);
        TestI(test);
        Console.WriteLine(test);
    }

    public static void TestI(StringBuilder test)
    {
        test.Append("修改");
    }
}</code>

In this case, the output will be "" and "modified", which indicates that modifications made in the method are reflected in the calling code. This is because StringBuilder is a mutable reference type.

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