C# binary constants representation

Question

I am really stumped on this one. In C# there is a hexadecimal constants representation format as below :

int a = 0xAF2323F5;

is there a binary constants representation format?

Thank you, I guess your result is correct but I was looking for systematical solution. Should I post a question o stackoverflow for each binary constant I need to convert? — Andrei Rînea, Aug 07 '09 at 20:29
This is a dupe of http://stackoverflow.com/questions/594720/c-binary-literals — Dan Diplo, Aug 07 '09 at 20:37
Good pointer, didn't know to search for "literal" although I should. Maybe Jeff was right about the search algoritm sucking a little (39%?) — Andrei Rînea, Aug 07 '09 at 20:43
Posted my answer in the linked thread http://stackoverflow.com/questions/594720/c-binary-literals/3776553#3776553. — Dmitry Tashkinov, Sep 23 '10 at 08:34

Ed S. · Answer 1 · 2009-08-07T20:59:06.267

8

Nope, no binary literals in C#. You can of course parse a string in binary format using Convert.ToInt32, but I don't think that would be a great solution.

int bin = Convert.ToInt32( "1010", 2 );

edited Aug 07 '09 at 20:59

answered Aug 07 '09 at 20:26

Ed S.

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I'll leave the question open for a few hours but this being the first answer, if it proves true, it will be chosen as the official answer. Thank you. – Andrei Rînea Aug 07 '09 at 20:28
True, that works, and it is useful in most cases. Unfortunately it does not work if you're using it in a `switch(myVariable) { case bin: Console.WriteLine("value detected"); break; }` statement, since `case` only allows constants. – Matt Dec 19 '13 at 12:15
1

It's possible now as `0b1010` as of C# 7 (more than 5 years ago as of this comment.) See answer by @Luis – Mike Jun 13 '22 at 12:29

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 16 '16 at 23:30

As of C#7 you can represent a binary literal value in code:

private static void BinaryLiteralsFeature()
{
    var employeeNumber = 0b00100010; //binary equivalent of whole number 34. Underlying data type defaults to System.Int32
    Console.WriteLine(employeeNumber); //prints 34 on console.
    long empNumberWithLongBackingType = 0b00100010; //here backing data type is long (System.Int64)
    Console.WriteLine(empNumberWithLongBackingType); //prints 34 on console.
    int employeeNumber_WithCapitalPrefix = 0B00100010; //0b and 0B prefixes are equivalent.
    Console.WriteLine(employeeNumber_WithCapitalPrefix); //prints 34 on console.
}

Further information can be found here.

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 07 '09 at 20:44

2

You could use an extension method:

public static int ToBinary(this string binary)
{
    return Convert.ToInt32( binary, 2 );
}

However, whether this is wise I'll leave up to you (given the fact it will operate on any string).

answered Aug 07 '09 at 20:44

Dan Diplo

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score 0 · Answer 4 · edited Aug 02 '17 at 06:29

0

Since Visual Studio 2017, binary literals like 0b00001 are supported.

edited Aug 02 '17 at 06:29

Andreas

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answered Aug 02 '17 at 06:12

Xiaoyuvax

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Is this a repeat of [this existing answer](https://stackoverflow.com/a/41193863)? – Pang Aug 02 '17 at 06:47
sorry, but i want to figure out that the newly released VS 2017 supports such a usage,hope this helps. – Xiaoyuvax Aug 17 '17 at 05:17
I don't see how repeating something that was already explained much better in the accepted answer could ever help anyone. – Nyerguds Mar 21 '18 at 11:48

C# binary constants representation

4 Answers4

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