#541 – Generic Method Type Parameters Can Hide Class-Level Type Parameters
March 16, 2012 2 Comments
When you have generic methods within a generic class, if the name of a type parameter in the generic method matches the name of a type parameter for the class, the parameter in the method takes precedence.
In the example below, both the Dog class and the BuryThing method declare a type parameter named T. Within the body of the BuryThing method, the method’s type parameter is used, rather than the class-level type parameter of the same name.
public class Dog<T> { // This method's type parameter hides the class-level type parameter public void BuryThing<T>(T thing) { Console.WriteLine("T's type is {0}", typeof(T).ToString()); }
Dog<Cow> d = new Dog<Cow>("Buster", 5); d.BuryThing(new Bone("Rawhide"));
To avoid this confusion, you should give your type parameters meaningful names, e.g. TDogThing and TThingToBury.