#186 – Value Types on the Heap

Value types are normally allocated on the stack. They can, however, be allocated on the heap–when they are declared within an object.  When an object is instantiated, memory for the entire object, including all of its data, is allocated on the heap.

For example, assume we define a Person class with some properties that are value types (int) and some that are reference types (string).

    public class Person
    {
        string FirstName;
        string LastName;

        int Age;
        int HeightInInches;      // also on heap

        public Person(string firstName, string lastName)
        {
            FirstName = firstName;
            LastName = lastName;
        }
    }

When you create an instance of the Person object,

            Person p = new Person("Zsa Zsa", "Gabor");

the Person object is created on the heap and all of its data members, including the Age and HeightInInches value types, are also on the heap.