Using overloaded operator== in a generic function
c#, generics
Solution
From Constraints on Type Parameters (C# Programming Guide):
When applying the where T : class constraint, avoid the == and != operators on the type parameter because these operators will test for reference identity only, not for value equality. This is the case even if these operators are overloaded in a type that is used as an argument. (...) The reason for this behavior is that, at compile time, the compiler only knows that T is a reference type, and therefore must use the default operators that are valid for all reference types.
Problem
Consider the following code: ``` class CustomClass { public CustomClass(string value) { m_value = value; } public static bool operator ==(CustomClass a, CustomClass b) { return a.m_value == b.m_value; } public static bool operator !=(CustomClass a, CustomClass b) { return a.m_value != b.m_value; } public override bool Equals(object o) { return m_value == (o as CustomClass).m_value; } public override int GetHashCode() { return 0; /* not needed */ } string m_value; } class G { public static bool enericFunction1<T>(T a1, T a2) where T : class { return a1.Equals(a2); } public static bool enericFunction2<T>(T a1, T a2) where T : class { return a1==a2; } } ``` Now when I call both generic functions, one succeeds and one fails: ``` var a = new CustomClass("same value"); var b = new CustomClass("same value"); Debug.Assert(G.enericFunction1(a, b)); // Succeeds Debug.Assert(G.enericFunction2(a, b)); // Fails ``` Apparently, G.enericFunction2 executes the default operator== implementation instead of my override. Can anybody explain why this happens?