#267 – Passing Data Back from a Method Using out Parameters

If you want a method to return a single value, you can return that value as the result of the method.

        public int AgeInHumanYears()
        {
            return Age * 7;
        }

However, there might be times when you want to return more than one data item from a method.  You can do this with out parameters.  Putting the keyword out in front of a parameter tells the compiler that the caller will not pass data in, but the method will pass data out.

        public void GetDogVitals(out string fullName, out int age, out string barkPhrase)
        {
            fullName = string.Format("{0}, {1}", Name, Title);
            age = Age;
            barkPhrase = BarkPhrase;
        }

When you call the method, you also need to use the out keyword on the variables passed into the method.

            string hisFullName;
            int hisAge;
            string hisBark;
            kirby.GetDogVitals(out hisFullName, out hisAge, out hisBark);