C# Type Casting

Type casting is when you assign a value of one data type to another type

C# Type Casting

Type casting is when you assign a value of one data type to another type.

In C#, there are two types of casting:

  • Implicit Casting (automatically) - converting a smaller type to a larger type size
    char -> int -> long -> float -> double

  • Explicit Casting (manually) - converting a larger type to a smaller size type
    double -> float -> long -> int -> char
  • Implicit Casting

    Implicit casting is done automatically when passing a smaller size type to a larger size type:

    Example

    int myInt = 9;
    double myDouble = myInt;       // Automatic casting: int to double
    
    Console.WriteLine(myInt);      // Outputs 9
    Console.WriteLine(myDouble);   // Outputs 9
    

    Try it Yourself »

    Explicit Casting

    Explicit casting must be done manually by placing the type in parentheses in front of the value:

    Example

    double myDouble = 9.78;
    int myInt = (int) myDouble;    // Manual casting: double to int
    
    Console.WriteLine(myDouble);   // Outputs 9.78
    Console.WriteLine(myInt);      // Outputs 9
    

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    Type Conversion Methods

    It is also possible to convert data types explicitly by using built-in methods, such as Convert.ToBoolean, Convert.ToDouble, Convert.ToString, Convert.ToInt32 (int) and Convert.ToInt64 (long):

    Example

    int myInt = 10;
    double myDouble = 5.25;
    bool myBool = true;
    
    Console.WriteLine(Convert.ToString(myInt));    // convert int to string
    Console.WriteLine(Convert.ToDouble(myInt));    // convert int to double
    Console.WriteLine(Convert.ToInt32(myDouble));  // convert double to int
    Console.WriteLine(Convert.ToString(myBool));   // convert bool to string

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    Why Conversion?

    Many times, there's no need for type conversion. But sometimes you have to. Take a look at the next chapter, when working with user input, to see an example of this.