With the help of this post, I am going to explain the differences between String and StringBuilder in C#. It is a common interview question for c#, asp.net developers as well.
Topics Covered
String
The String is immutable. This means once we create a string object we cannot modify it.
When we perform any operation on strings like insert, replace, or append to change the string, it will discard the old value and a new instance will be created in memory to hold the new value.
Code Snippet
string str = "ds"; // It creates a new string instance instead of changing the old one str += "tech"; str += "dipendra shekhawat";
StringBuilder
StringBuilder is mutable. This means once we create a string object we can modify it.
When we create a string builder object we can perform any operation like insert, replace, or append without new instances getting created every time.
Code Snippet
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(20);
sb.Append("dotnet");
sb.Append("crunch");
string str = sb.ToString(); Differences Between String and StringBuilder
I have compiled the list of differences between String and StringBuilder in C#:
| String | StringBuilder |
|---|---|
| It is an immutable (unchanging) | It is mutable (liable to change) |
| Affects performance because every time it will create a new instance | Boosts performance as it will use the same instance of an object to perform any action |
| You cannot use the append keyword on strings | You can use the append keyword on the StringBuilder object |
| It belongs to the System namespace | It belongs to System.Text namespace |
Summary
You have learned the differences between String and StringBuilder in C# along with their features with the help of code examples.
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{Happy Coding}
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