Why is it Valid to Concatenate Null Strings but not to Call "null.ToString()"?
.net, c#, null, string
Solution
The reason for first one working:
From MSDN:
In string concatenation operations,the C# compiler treats a null string the same as an empty string, but it does not convert the value of the original null string.
More information on the + binary operator:
The binary + operator performs string concatenation when one or both operands are of type string.
If an operand of string concatenation is null, an empty string is substituted. Otherwise, any non-string argument is converted to its string representation by invoking the virtual `ToString` method inherited from type object.
If `ToString` returns `null`, an empty string is substituted.
The reason of the error in second is:
null (C# Reference) - The null keyword is a literal that represents a null reference, one that does not refer to any object. null is the default value of reference-type variables.
Problem
This is valid C# code ``` var bob = "abc" + null + null + null + "123"; // abc123 ``` This is not valid C# code ``` var wtf = null.ToString(); // compiler error ``` Why is the first statement valid?