#359 – The Difference Between Virtual and Non-Virtual Properties

In C#, virtual properties support polymorphism, by using a combination of the virtual and override keywords.  With the virtual keyword on the property in the base class and the override keyword on the property in the derived class, both properties are said to be virtual.

Properties that don’t have either the virtual or override keywords, or that have the new keyword, are said to be non-virtual.

When you read or write a virtual property through an object reference, the run-time type of the object is used to determine which implementation of the property to use.

When you read or write a non-virtual property through an object reference, the compile-time type of the object is used to determine which implementation of the property to use.