Inline arrays – struct vs struct & reference types

[deep-outcome]

Type of issue

Typo

Description

From https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/language-reference/builtin-types/struct#inline-arrays

In addition, the compiler validates the System.Runtime.CompilerServices.InlineArrayAttribute attribute:

• The length must be greater than zero (> 0).
• The target type must be a struct.

There are minimal restrictions on the type of the single field. It can't be a pointer type, but it can be any reference type, or any value type. You can use inline arrays with almost any C# data structure.

So these two statements are in contrast one to another.

Page URL

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/language-reference/builtin-types/struct#inline-arrays

Content source URL

https://github.com/dotnet/docs/blob/main/docs/csharp/language-reference/builtin-types/struct.md

Document Version Independent Id

0960802e-80c3-cb56-cb8b-ab1f1b20fb4e

Article author

@BillWagner

Metadata

• ID: d9220116-e950-04cf-b6d5-70d15a084a22
• Service: dotnet-csharp
• Sub-service: lang-reference

[BillWagner]

These statements are accurate, but should be enhanced with an example. The target type must a a struct:

[System.Runtime.CompilerServices.InlineArray(10)]
public struct StringBuffer // The buffer type must be a struct.
{
    private string _firstElement;
}

However, the single field can be a reference type:

[System.Runtime.CompilerServices.InlineArray(10)]
public struct StringBuffer
{
    private string _firstElement; // The field type may be a reference type.
}

[deep-outcome]

Ah, I see. I though of target type as type of buffer/array. Eligible for closing.

[BartoszKlonowski]

@BillWagner I will work on it and provide it with some clarification examples.