Action<T1,T2,T3,T4> Delegate

Reference

Definition

Namespace:: System

Assembly:: System.Runtime.dll

Assembly:: System.Core.dll

Assembly:: mscorlib.dll

Assembly:: netstandard.dll

Important

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Encapsulates a method that has four parameters and does not return a value.

generic <typename T1, typename T2, typename T3, typename T4>
public delegate void Action(T1 arg1, T2 arg2, T3 arg3, T4 arg4);

public delegate void Action<in T1,in T2,in T3,in T4>(T1 arg1, T2 arg2, T3 arg3, T4 arg4);

public delegate void Action<T1,T2,T3,T4>(T1 arg1, T2 arg2, T3 arg3, T4 arg4);

type Action<'T1, 'T2, 'T3, 'T4> = delegate of 'T1 * 'T2 * 'T3 * 'T4 -> unit

Public Delegate Sub Action(Of In T1, In T2, In T3, In T4)(arg1 As T1, arg2 As T2, arg3 As T3, arg4 As T4)

Public Delegate Sub Action(Of T1, T2, T3, T4)(arg1 As T1, arg2 As T2, arg3 As T3, arg4 As T4)

Type Parameters

T1

The type of the first parameter of the method that this delegate encapsulates.

This type parameter is contravariant. That is, you can use either the type you specified or any type that is less derived. For more information about covariance and contravariance, see Covariance and Contravariance in Generics.

T2

The type of the second parameter of the method that this delegate encapsulates.

T3

The type of the third parameter of the method that this delegate encapsulates.

T4

The type of the fourth parameter of the method that this delegate encapsulates.

Parameters

arg1: T1

The first parameter of the method that this delegate encapsulates.

arg2: T2

The second parameter of the method that this delegate encapsulates.

arg3: T3

The third parameter of the method that this delegate encapsulates.

arg4: T4

The fourth parameter of the method that this delegate encapsulates.

Remarks

You can use the Action<T1,T2,T3,T4> delegate to pass a method as a parameter without explicitly declaring a custom delegate. The encapsulated method must correspond to the method signature that is defined by this delegate. This means that the encapsulated method must have four parameters that are all passed to it by value, and it must not return a value. (In C#, the method must return void. In F#, the method or function must return unit. In Visual Basic, it must be defined by the Sub…End Sub construct. It can also be a method that returns a value that is ignored.) Typically, such a method is used to perform an operation.

Note

To reference a method that has four parameters and returns a value, use the generic Func<T1,T2,T3,T4,TResult> delegate instead.

When you use the Action<T1,T2,T3,T4> delegate, you do not have to explicitly define a delegate that encapsulates a method with four parameters. For example, the following code explicitly declares a delegate named StringCopy and assigns a reference to the CopyStrings method to its delegate instance.

using System;

delegate void StringCopy(string[] stringArray1,
                         string[] stringArray2,
                         int indexToStart,
                         int numberToCopy);

public class TestDelegate
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        string[] ordinals = ["First", "Second", "Third", "Fourth", "Fifth",
                           "Sixth", "Seventh", "Eighth", "Ninth", "Tenth"];
        string[] copiedOrdinals = new string[ordinals.Length];
        StringCopy copyOperation = CopyStrings;
        copyOperation(ordinals, copiedOrdinals, 3, 5);

        Console.WriteLine();
        foreach (string ordinal in copiedOrdinals)
            Console.WriteLine(string.IsNullOrEmpty(ordinal) ? "<None>" : ordinal);
    }

    private static void CopyStrings(string[] source, string[] target,
                                    int startPos, int number)
    {
        if (source.Length != target.Length)
            throw new IndexOutOfRangeException("The source and target arrays must have the same number of elements.");

        for (int ctr = startPos; ctr <= startPos + number - 1; ctr++)
            target[ctr] = source[ctr];
    }
}

open System

type StringCopy = delegate of stringArray1: string [] *
                              stringArray2: string [] *
                              indexToStart: int *
                              numberToCopy: int -> unit

let copyStrings (source: string []) (target: string []) startPos number =
    if source.Length <> target.Length then
        raise (IndexOutOfRangeException "The source and target arrays must have the same number of elements.")

    for i = startPos to startPos + number - 1 do
        target.[i] <- source.[i]

let ordinals =
    [| "First"; "Second"; "Third"; "Fourth"; "Fifth"
       "Sixth"; "Seventh"; "Eighth"; "Ninth"; "Tenth" |]

let copiedOrdinals: string [] = Array.zeroCreate ordinals.Length

let copyOperation = StringCopy copyStrings

copyOperation.Invoke(ordinals, copiedOrdinals, 3, 5)

for ordinal in copiedOrdinals do
    printfn "%s" (if String.IsNullOrEmpty ordinal then "<None>" else ordinal)

Delegate Sub StringCopy(stringArray1() As String, _
                        stringArray2() As String, _
                        indexToStart As Integer, _
                        numberToCopy As Integer)

Module TestDelegate
    Public Sub RunIt()
        Dim ordinals() As String = {"First", "Second", "Third", "Fourth",
                                  "Fifth", "Sixth", "Seventh", "Eighth",
                                  "Ninth", "Tenth"}
        Dim copiedOrdinals(ordinals.Length - 1) As String
        Dim copyOperation As StringCopy = AddressOf CopyStrings
        copyOperation(ordinals, copiedOrdinals, 3, 5)

        Console.WriteLine()
        For Each ordinal As String In copiedOrdinals
            If String.IsNullOrEmpty(ordinal) Then
                Console.WriteLine("<None>")
            Else
                Console.WriteLine(ordinal)
            End If
        Next
    End Sub

    Private Sub CopyStrings(source() As String, target() As String, _
                           startPos As Integer, number As Integer)
      If source.Length <> target.Length Then 
         Throw New IndexOutOfRangeException("The source and target arrays" & _
                   " must have the same number of elements.")
      End If
      For ctr As Integer = startPos to startpos + number  - 1
            target(ctr) = source(ctr)
        Next
   End Sub
End Module

The following example simplifies this code by instantiating the Action<T1,T2,T3,T4> delegate instead of explicitly defining a new delegate and assigning a named method to it.

using System;

public class TestAction4
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        string[] ordinals = ["First", "Second", "Third", "Fourth", "Fifth",
                           "Sixth", "Seventh", "Eighth", "Ninth", "Tenth"];
        string[] copiedOrdinals = new string[ordinals.Length];
        Action<string[], string[], int, int> copyOperation = CopyStrings;
        copyOperation(ordinals, copiedOrdinals, 3, 5);

        Console.WriteLine();
        foreach (string ordinal in copiedOrdinals)
            Console.WriteLine(string.IsNullOrEmpty(ordinal) ? "<None>" : ordinal);
    }

    private static void CopyStrings(string[] source, string[] target,
                                    int startPos, int number)
    {
        if (source.Length != target.Length)
            throw new IndexOutOfRangeException("The source and target arrays must have the same number of elements.");

        for (int ctr = startPos; ctr <= startPos + number - 1; ctr++)
            target[ctr] = source[ctr];
    }
}

open System

let copyStrings (source: string []) (target: string []) startPos number =
    if source.Length <> target.Length then
        raise (IndexOutOfRangeException "The source and target arrays must have the same number of elements.")

    for i = startPos to startPos + number - 1 do
        target.[i] <- source.[i]

let ordinals =
    [| "First"; "Second"; "Third"; "Fourth"; "Fifth"
       "Sixth"; "Seventh"; "Eighth"; "Ninth"; "Tenth" |]

let copiedOrdinals: string [] = Array.zeroCreate ordinals.Length

let copyOperation = Action<_, _, _, _> copyStrings

copyOperation.Invoke(ordinals, copiedOrdinals, 3, 5)

for ordinal in copiedOrdinals do
    printfn "%s" (if String.IsNullOrEmpty ordinal then "<None>" else ordinal)

Module TestAction4
    Public Sub RunIt()
        Dim ordinals() As String = {"First", "Second", "Third", "Fourth",
                                  "Fifth", "Sixth", "Seventh", "Eighth",
                                  "Ninth", "Tenth"}
        Dim copiedOrdinals(ordinals.Length - 1) As String
        Dim copyOperation As Action(Of String(), String(), Integer, Integer) =
                           AddressOf CopyStrings
        copyOperation(ordinals, copiedOrdinals, 3, 5)

        Console.WriteLine()
        For Each ordinal As String In copiedOrdinals
            If String.IsNullOrEmpty(ordinal) Then
                Console.WriteLine("<None>")
            Else
                Console.WriteLine(ordinal)
            End If
        Next
    End Sub

    Private Sub CopyStrings(source() As String, target() As String, _
                           startPos As Integer, number As Integer)
      If source.Length <> target.Length Then 
         Throw New IndexOutOfRangeException("The source and target arrays" & _
                   " must have the same number of elements.")
      End If
      For ctr As Integer = startPos to startpos + number  - 1
            target(ctr) = source(ctr)
        Next
   End Sub
End Module

You can also use the Action<T1,T2,T3,T4> delegate with anonymous methods in C#, as the following example illustrates. (For an introduction to anonymous methods, see Anonymous Methods.)

using System;

public class TestAnonymousMethod
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        string[] ordinals = ["First", "Second", "Third", "Fourth", "Fifth",
                           "Sixth", "Seventh", "Eighth", "Ninth", "Tenth"];
        string[] copiedOrdinals = new string[ordinals.Length];
        Action<string[], string[], int, int> copyOperation =
                                             delegate (string[] s1, string[] s2,
                                             int pos, int num)
                                  { CopyStrings(s1, s2, pos, num); };
        copyOperation(ordinals, copiedOrdinals, 3, 5);

        Console.WriteLine();
        foreach (string ordinal in copiedOrdinals)
            Console.WriteLine(string.IsNullOrEmpty(ordinal) ? "<None>" : ordinal);
    }

    private static void CopyStrings(string[] source, string[] target,
                                    int startPos, int number)
    {
        if (source.Length != target.Length)
            throw new IndexOutOfRangeException("The source and target arrays must have the same number of elements.");

        for (int ctr = startPos; ctr <= startPos + number - 1; ctr++)
            target[ctr] = source[ctr];
    }
}

You can also assign a lambda expression to an Action<T1,T2,T3,T4> delegate instance, as the following example illustrates. (For an introduction to lambda expressions, see Lambda Expressions (C#) or Lambda Expressions (F#).)

using System;

public class TestLambdaExpression
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        string[] ordinals = ["First", "Second", "Third", "Fourth", "Fifth",
                           "Sixth", "Seventh", "Eighth", "Ninth", "Tenth"];
        string[] copiedOrdinals = new string[ordinals.Length];
        Action<string[], string[], int, int> copyOperation = (s1, s2, pos, num)
                                             => CopyStrings(s1, s2, pos, num);
        copyOperation(ordinals, copiedOrdinals, 3, 5);

        Console.WriteLine();
        foreach (string ordinal in copiedOrdinals)
            Console.WriteLine(string.IsNullOrEmpty(ordinal) ? "<None>" : ordinal);
    }

    private static void CopyStrings(string[] source, string[] target,
                                    int startPos, int number)
    {
        if (source.Length != target.Length)
            throw new IndexOutOfRangeException("The source and target arrays must have the same number of elements.");

        for (int ctr = startPos; ctr <= startPos + number - 1; ctr++)
            target[ctr] = source[ctr];
    }
}

open System

let copyStrings (source: string []) (target: string []) startPos number =
    if source.Length <> target.Length then
        raise (IndexOutOfRangeException "The source and target arrays must have the same number of elements.")

    for i = startPos to startPos + number - 1 do
        target.[i] <- source.[i]

let ordinals =
    [| "First"; "Second"; "Third"; "Fourth"; "Fifth"
       "Sixth"; "Seventh"; "Eighth"; "Ninth"; "Tenth" |]

let copiedOrdinals: string [] = Array.zeroCreate ordinals.Length

let copyOperation = Action<_, _, _, _> (fun s1 s2 pos num -> copyStrings s1 s2 pos num)

copyOperation.Invoke(ordinals, copiedOrdinals, 3, 5)

for ordinal in copiedOrdinals do
    printfn "%s" (if String.IsNullOrEmpty ordinal then "<None>" else ordinal)

Public Module TestLambdaExpression
    Public Sub RunIt()
        Dim ordinals() As String = {"First", "Second", "Third", "Fourth", "Fifth",
                           "Sixth", "Seventh", "Eighth", "Ninth", "Tenth"}
        Dim copiedOrdinals(ordinals.Length - 1) As String
        Dim copyOperation As Action(Of String(), String(), Integer, Integer) =
                           Sub(s1, s2, pos, num) CopyStrings(s1, s2, pos, num)
        copyOperation(ordinals, copiedOrdinals, 3, 5)

        Console.WriteLine()
        For Each ordinal As String In copiedOrdinals
            If String.IsNullOrEmpty(ordinal) Then
                Console.WriteLine("<None>")
            Else
                Console.WriteLine(ordinal)
            End If
        Next
    End Sub

    Private Function CopyStrings(source() As String, target() As String,
                                startPos As Integer, number As Integer) As Integer
        If source.Length <> target.Length Then
            Throw New IndexOutOfRangeException("The source and target arrays must have the same number of elements.")
        End If

        For ctr As Integer = startPos To startPos + number - 1
            target(ctr) = source(ctr)
        Next
        Return number
    End Function
End Module

' The example displays the following output:
'       Fourth
'       Fifth
'       Sixth
'       Seventh
'       Eighth

Extension Methods

GetMethodInfo(Delegate)

Gets an object that represents the method represented by the specified delegate.

Applies to

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