Declaring class properties as a decimal

Question

 public class Invoice
    {
        public decimal Amount { get; set; }
    }

I know that M is the suffix for decimal values

  public class Invoices
    {
        public void IdentityTest()  
        {
            Invoice firstInvoice = new Invoice();  
            firstInvoice.Amount = 0.0M;
        }    
    }

What is the point of declaring class properties as decimal when you have to use M with a value which you expect to be decimal?

The same reason you'd declare a string field, then store a string in it rather than, say, an integer? Implicit casting saves the day here and (in this case), I'd expect the compiler to fix things, but the principle still holds. — spender, Apr 09 '13 at 12:31

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 09 '13 at 12:31

2

You need to tell the compiler the type of the literal - it is not safe to infer it as you may have wanted to use the default type for the literal (double in this case).

This will work if there is an implicit conversion between the two, but if there isn't you need to specify a cast/conversion otherwise.

answered Apr 09 '13 at 12:31

Oded

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Which is System.Double in the OP's example. – ken2k Apr 09 '13 at 12:32
@ken2k - True enough. Added to answer. – Oded Apr 09 '13 at 12:32
It's much clearer now..thank you for the answer. – Rene Apr 09 '13 at 12:38

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 09 '13 at 12:32

0

If you don't use the suffix M then the literal will be treated as a double. Assuming you don't want a double, this could result in a compiler error.

answered Apr 09 '13 at 12:32

DGibbs

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score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 09 '13 at 12:32

0

From MSDN:

Without the suffix m, the number is treated as a double, thus generating a compiler error.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/364x0z75(v=vs.80).aspx

answered Apr 09 '13 at 12:32

Joey Gennari

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Declaring class properties as a decimal

3 Answers3