CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#namespacesconstants
Paul Michaels
Paul Michaels

Reputation: 16695

Namespace constant in C#

Is there any way to define a constant for an entire namespace, rather than just within a class? For example:

namespace MyNamespace
{    
    public const string MY_CONST = "Test";

    static class Program
    {
    }
}

Gives a compile error as follows:

Expected class, delegate, enum, interface, or struct

Upvotes: 75

Views: 72173

Answers (5)

Halil Ibrahim Özcan
Halil Ibrahim Özcan

Reputation: 141

I would define a public static class with constants:

namespace Constants
{
    public static class Const
    {
        public const int ConstInt = 420;
    }
}

Inside my Program.cs, i would add the following using:

using static Constants.Const;
using static System.Console;

Now you can freely use the defined constants (which are static by default) and static Console-Methods, e. g.

class Program
{
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        WriteLine(ConstInt);
    }
}

Upvotes: 2

MrCalico
MrCalico

Reputation: 371

You can use the constants in your other classes if you add the "Using Static" too:

using static MyNameSpace.MyGlobals;

namespace MyNameSpace {
    public static class MyGlobals{
        public const bool SAVE_LOGSPACE = true;
        public static readonly DateTime BACKTEST_START_DATE = new DateTime(2019,03,01);
    }
}

Upvotes: 8

RvdK
RvdK

Reputation: 19790

I believe it's not possible. But you can create a Class with only constants.

public static class GlobalVar
{
    public const string MY_CONST = "Test";
}

and then use it like

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        Console.WriteLine(GlobalVar.MY_CONST);
    }
}

Upvotes: 118

Oded
Oded

Reputation: 499002

This is not possible

From MSDN:

The const keyword is used to modify a declaration of a field or local variable.

Since you can only have a field or local variable within a class, this means you cannot have a global const. (i.e namespace const)

Upvotes: 14

Svante Svenson
Svante Svenson

Reputation: 12488

No, there is not. Put it in a static class or enum.

Upvotes: 3

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