C# Genealogy
Whats New In C#
Eiffel
Fortran
Algol 60
C++
C#
Cobol
PL/I
Pascal
Ada 95
Java
Ada 83
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C# And .Net
The Simple Stuff
o Languages like C# are not isolated
entities
o They interoperate in two ways:
o Most of C# is pretty similar to
languages you are used to:
n By being part of a system written in
more than one language
n By accessing services and operating on a
distributed environment
n Declarations
n Expressions
n Assignment and control statements
o Other elements are quite similar:
o Requires support from run time:
n Classes
n Functions
n .Net and the Common Language Runtime
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Major Topics To Discuss
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
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Memory Layout
Memory system and pointers
Execution time environment
Threads
Exceptions
Type system
Identifier scope system
Interfaces
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Heap
Stack
Pointers
f()
g() h() k()
Function Call & Return
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Garbage Collector
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C# Memory Management
C# Memory Management
o Static vs. dynamic
o Dynamic storagestack and heap
o Stack (Dynamic):
o Allocation using new
o Deallocation by Garbage Collection
o Garbage collection:
n Managed algorithmically by
implementation of function calls
o Heap (Dynamic)
n Mostly managed by system
n Provision for management by programmer
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n Track objects that are accessible
n Free storage associated with objects that
are inaccessible
n Garbage collector is a system provided
service that runs periodically
n Deals with fragmentation
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Garbage Collector Pros & Cons
Some Specifics of C#
o Pros:
o Object destruction via Object.Finalize:
n Programmer does not have to implement
n Memory management done right
o Cons:
n No guarantee when it runs, hence no
control
n Takes processor resources
n Does not delete storage if it is still
reachable even if you dont want it
n Memory leaks can (and do) still occur
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o Pointersyes, they are provided:
n Syntax like C++, code marked unsafe
n Objects managed by GC or userpinned
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Loader
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Binary
Program
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Source
Program
Interpreter
TARGET
Run-time Support
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MSIL
Program
Compiler
JiT Compiler
TARGET
Run-time Support
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TARGET
Run-time Support
Machine Instructions For Multiple Targets
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Object
Program
Machine Instructions For Specific Target
Object Code
Libraries
Linkage
Editor
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More Flexible Compilation
Compiler
Object
Program
o Garbage collector available via GC
class:
n Runs via separate thread
n Various methods available for access
Traditional Compilation
Source
Program
n Inherited from Object type
n Override to destroy object as desired
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C# Threads
o Threads vs. processes/tasks
o C# supports threads
o System.Threading namespace
o Facilities include:
Thread
Who is
running
and when?
Communication
Thread
Thread
Thread
What exactly are the problems here?
Concurrency
n Thread creation, destruction
n Child thread management, e.g. join()
n Thread scheduling, priority, timing
o Synchronization:
n Monitors
n Semphores (mutex class)
n Lockserialization of statement block
Data
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Exceptions
One Thing Is For Sure
o Why do we need exceptions?
o Exceptions are NOT for dealing with
errors
o They are a mechanism for changing
the flow of control from sequential to
a branch if certain conditions exist
o They always indicate expected
circumstances. Otherwise they could
not possibly be generated
o How should they be made available in
programming languages?
o What benefits do they provide?
o What problems could they cause for
us?
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Exceptions in C#
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o Type should be consistent:
n Predefined and user-defined
o All C# types derive from System.Object
o Single rooted hierarchy
o Provides four standard methods:
n
n
n
n
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Type System
o Throw raises an exception
o Catch defines a block that handles
the exception
o Etc.
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bool Equals
int GetHashCode
Type GetType
String ToString
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These dont
necessarily
mean what
you think
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Types Of Types
Value vs. Reference
o Value types and reference types
o Value types:
o Note the special status of primitive types
o System.Int32 myInt = 42;
System.String myStr = Hello World;
Circle c;
c = new Circle(...);
n Program variables have a value
n Space allocated on stack
n
n
n
n
Program variable is just a reference
Allocated space on stack
Reference is a type-safe pointer
Data space allocated on heap
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Boxing And Unboxing
Boxed
myInt
object o
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myStr
address
address
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Be careful
with
deallocation
of the space
Hello World
Circle object
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n The ability to create new things
that are more useful (usually more
abstract) than the basic machine
resources
n To allow us to build mechanical
checks to stop us from hurting
ourselves
Heap
42
42
The Role Of A Type System
myInt = 42;
o
= myInt;
ymInt = (int)o;
Stack
myInt
myInt
o What do we need from a type
system?
o Conversion between value variable
and reference variable
o System.Int32
object
int
Heap
Stack
o Reference types:
42
o The notion of type is artificial
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The Role Of A Type System
o Types across languages:
n Consistency
n Compatibility
o Type safety on steroids:
n Checking for meaningful statements
n Add speed to distance?
n Assembly language vs. C vs Java and C#
vs Ada
o Type needs to support application
semantics
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