What is the difference between abstract and virtual in …
In C#, both abstract and virtual are used to define members that can be overridden, but there are some key differences between them.
- Members that are abstract.
- Abstract members must be declared in an abstract class.
- Abstract members do not have implementation, only contain method signatures.
- Abstract members must be implemented in the derived class.
- Abstract classes cannot be directly instantiated and can only be instantiated through derived classes.
- In a derived class, the override keyword is required when implementing abstract members.
- Virtual members:
- Virtual members can be declared in the base class and can be overridden in the derived class.
- Virtual members contain default implementations, but can be overridden in derived classes.
- Virtual members can be instantiated in the base class or can be instantiated through derived classes.
- When overriding a virtual member in a derived class, the override keyword must be used.
- If the derived class does not override a virtual member, it will use the default implementation from the base class.
In summary:
- Abstract members must be implemented in derived classes, while virtual members can be optionally overridden.
- Abstract classes cannot be instantiated directly, while virtual classes can be instantiated directly.
- Abstract members do not have a default implementation, while virtual members include a default implementation.
- Abstract members must be declared in an abstract class, while virtual members can be declared in either a regular class or an abstract class.