Extension methods are new features of c# 3.0 compilers and it is available in all the versions greater than 3.0. Extension methods enable you to "add" methods to existing types without creating a new derived type, recompiling, or otherwise modifying the original type. Extension methods are a special kind of static method, but they are called as if they were instance methods on the extended type. For client code written in C# and Visual Basic, there is no apparent difference between calling an extension method and the methods that are actually defined in a type.
And it can be called from an application by using this syntax:
In your code you invoke the extension method with instance method syntax. However, the intermediate language (IL) generated by the compiler translates your code into a call on the static method. Therefore, the principle of encapsulation is not really being violated. In fact, extension methods cannot access private variables in the type they are extending.
namespace ExtensionMethods { public static class MyExtensions { public static int WordCount(this String str) { return str.Split(new char[] { ' ', '.', '?' }, StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries).Length; } } }The WordCount extension method can be brought into scope with this using directive:
using ExtensionMethods;
And it can be called from an application by using this syntax:
string s = "Hello Extension Methods"; int i = s.WordCount();
In your code you invoke the extension method with instance method syntax. However, the intermediate language (IL) generated by the compiler translates your code into a call on the static method. Therefore, the principle of encapsulation is not really being violated. In fact, extension methods cannot access private variables in the type they are extending.
