Value type copying behavior in C Sharp (C#) - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Value type copying behavior

📖 Scenario: Imagine you have a simple box that holds a number. You want to see what happens when you copy this box to another box and then change the number in the new box.

🎯 Goal: You will create a value type (a struct) called Box that holds an integer. Then you will copy it to another variable and change the copy's value. Finally, you will print both values to see how copying works for value types.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a struct called Box with a public integer field Value

Create a variable box1 of type Box and set Value to 10

Create a variable box2 and copy box1 into it

Change box2.Value to 20

Print box1.Value and box2.Value to show they are different

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Understanding value type copying helps avoid bugs when working with simple data containers like points, colors, or small data records.

💼 Career

Many programming jobs require clear understanding of how data is copied and passed around, especially in performance-critical or memory-sensitive applications.

1

Create the Box struct and box1 variable

Create a struct called Box with a public integer field Value. Then create a variable called box1 of type Box and set box1.Value to 10.

C Sharp (C#)

// Define struct Box with public int Value
// Create variable box1 of type Box and set box1.Value to 10
// Your code here

Need a hint?

Use struct Box { public int Value; } to define the struct. Then create box1 and set its Value.

2

Copy box1 to box2

Create a variable called box2 and copy the value of box1 into it.

C Sharp (C#)

struct Box
{
    public int Value;
}

Box box1 = new Box();
box1.Value = 10;

// Create box2 and copy box1 into it
// Your code here

Need a hint?

Assign box1 to box2 directly to copy the value.

3

Change box2.Value to 20

Change the Value field of box2 to 20.

C Sharp (C#)

struct Box
{
    public int Value;
}

Box box1 = new Box();
box1.Value = 10;

Box box2 = box1;

// Change box2.Value to 20
// Your code here

Need a hint?

Set box2.Value to 20 to see if it affects box1.

4

Print box1.Value and box2.Value

Write two Console.WriteLine statements to print box1.Value and box2.Value on separate lines.

C Sharp (C#)

struct Box
{
    public int Value;
}

Box box1 = new Box();
box1.Value = 10;

Box box2 = box1;
box2.Value = 20;

// Print box1.Value and box2.Value
// Your code here

Need a hint?

Use Console.WriteLine(box1.Value); and Console.WriteLine(box2.Value); to print the values.