the difference between string.Empty and null

[Guest]

greetings, i have some questions below, what are the differences between

private string _strVal = string.Empty; and _strVal = null;

does the string.Empty; allocate memory for it? how about _strVal = ""

thanks for enlightening me on this.

 

[bruce barker]

string.Empty points to one string that equal "". due to literal pooling,
there is only one copy per assembly for "". null is a different value, and
takes no gc memory.

 

[Scott Allen]

To expand on Bruce's comment:

String.Empty is a valid instance of the string class, you can invoke
the Length property (and get back a value of 0). A null reference does
not refer to a valid object.

 

[Kevin Spencer]

To expand on Scott's comment:

A string is actually an array of char. The array is terminated with a null
zero character (ASCII 0 or \0). The null zero does not count when referring
to the length of the string. It is simply the terminator character for the
array. A null string is a variable that is not initialized and points to
null. An empty string is a variable that points to an array with only a null
zero in it.

--
HTH,
Kevin Spencer
..Net Developer
Microsoft MVP
I get paid good money to
solve puzzles for a living