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c#genericsc#-8.0nullable-reference-types
Ilya Chernomordik
Ilya Chernomordik

Reputation: 30385

What does class? (class with question mark) mean in a C# generic type constraint?

While I tried to find an answer to another question I noticed that this code compiles in C#:

public void Foo<T>(T obj)
    where T : class?
{
}

I did not manage to find in the documentation what it even means.

Upvotes: 3

Views: 1159

Answers (2)

Pavel Anikhouski
Pavel Anikhouski

Reputation: 23308

To allow your class return null value without CS864 warning you can rewrite your code a little bit

public T? Foo<T>(T obj)
    where T : class
{
    return null;
}

The question about class? is open GitHub issue right now. class? constraint isn't implemented yet and therefore compiler threats it like regular class and generate A null literal introduces a null value when 'T' is a non-nullable reference type for now.

You can also refer to the The issue with T? section in this article to see some details. The code sample above is recommended way to deal with nullable generic type

Upvotes: 1

Holger
Holger

Reputation: 2662

It enforces that T has to be a nullable reference type.

The type you set in for T, must derive from object?.

It's a new feature in C#8, to explictly declare a type as nullable. if you have

 Add<T>(T tmp);

You document, it's OK to Add null;

Upvotes: 8

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