C# Call By Reference

C# provides a ref keyword to pass argument as reference-type. It passes reference of arguments to the function rather than copy of original value. The changes in passed values are permanent and modify the original variable value.

Example

snippet

using System;
namespace CallByReference
{
    class Program
    {
        // User defined function
        public void Show(ref int val)
        {
             val *= val; // Manipulating value
            Console.WriteLine("Value inside the show function "+val);
            // No return statement
        }
        // Main function, execution entry point of the program
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            int val = 50;
            Program program = new Program(); // Creating Object
            Console.WriteLine("Value before calling the function "+val);
            program.Show(ref val); // Calling Function by passing reference          
            Console.WriteLine("Value after calling the function " + val);
        }
    }
}

Output

Value before calling the function 50 Value inside the show function 2500 Value after calling the function 2500