Summary
Your goal was to use several different techniques to change the data type of a given value.
You used implicit conversion, relying on the C# compiler to perform widening conversions. When the compiler was unable to perform an implicit conversion, you used explicit conversions. You used the ToString() method to explicitly convert a numeric data type into a string.
When you needed to perform narrowing conversions, you used several different techniques. You used the casting operator () when the conversion could be made safely and were willing to accept truncation of values after the decimal. And you used the Convert() method when you wanted to perform a conversion and use common rounding rules when performing a narrowing conversion.
Finally, you used the TryParse() methods when the conversion from a string to a numeric data type could potentially result in a data type conversion exception.
Without this wealth of options, it would be difficult to work in a typed programming language. Fortunately, this well executed system of types, conversion, and casting can be harnessed to build error free applications.
Resources
- Casting and type conversions (C# programming guide)
- Built-in types (C# reference)
- Default values of C# types (C# reference)
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