benefits of static

If I have a class that has some functions in it. Is there any benefit to using static to declare the functions? I'm doing something like this:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/de...ientsocket.asp

and I was curious as to why they use static functions within the class. Thanks,

Jacob438

They use statis methods, so that the class does'nt have to be instantiated to use the methods.

eg

Code:

---

class MyClass
{
    public static MyMethod()
    {
          Console.Writeline("Class does'nt have to be instantiated to use this method");
    }
}

MyClass.MyMethod();
}

---

You'll see these in utility classes. When you have a bunch of methods, you just stick them in a class and declare them static.

Also if you are going to be using static methods, the variables in that class have to be static too.

ah, cool, thanks, I read the description in MSDN about static classes and even looked through the examples and I understood what it meant, but not what the point was, thanks a lot DevGrp, sometimes it helps to have something explained by somebody else.

Thanks,

Jacob438

No prob :)

Also, if you are going to use it as a straight utility class, you may want to implement a private default constructor and/or static constructor. The private default constructor will block users from instantiating your class directly, and a static constructor can be used to initialize members (static) when the class is first loaded in memory.

While you're at it, you can also used the sealed keyword to prevent the class from being inherited.