Struct Constructor Restrictions
Although the syntax for struct and class constructors is the same, there are some
additional restrictions that apply to struct constructors:
1. The compiler always creates a default struct constructor.
The compiler always generates a default constructor, regardless of whether you
declare constructors yourself.
2. You cannot declare a default constructor in a struct.
The reason for this restriction is that the compiler always creates a default
constructor in a struct (as just described) so you would end up with a duplicate
definition.
You can declare a struct constructor as long as it expects at least one argument.
3. You cannot declare a protected constructor in a struct.
The reason for this restriction is that you can never derive other classes or
structs from a struct, and so protected access would not make sense, as shown
in the following example:
class CPoint
{
// Okay
protected CPoint(int x, int y) { ... }
}
struct SPoint
{
// Compile-time error
protected SPoint(int x, int y) { .. . }
}
4. You must initialize all fields.
class CPoint
{
private int x, y;
public CPoint(int x, int y) { /*nothing*/ }
// Okay. Compiler ensures that x and y are initialized to
// zero.
}
However, if you declare a struct constructor that fails to initialize a field, the
compiler will generate a compile-time error:
struct SPoint1 // Okay: initialized when declared
{
private int x = 0, y = 0;
public SPoint1(int x, int y) { }
}
struct SPoint2 // Okay: initialized in constructor
{
private int x, y;
public SPoint2(int x, int y)
{
this.x = x;
this.y = y;
}
}
struct SPoint3 // Compile-time error
{
private int x, y;
public SPoint3(int x, int y) { }
}