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C# - Type Conversion

Type conversion is converting one type of data to another type. It is also known as Type Casting. In C#, type casting has two forms:

  • Implicit type conversion - These conversions are performed by C# in a type-safe manner. For example, are conversions from smaller to larger integral types and conversions from derived classes to base classes.

  • Explicit type conversion - These conversions are done explicitly by users using the pre-defined functions. Explicit conversions require a cast operator.

The following example shows an explicit type conversion:

using System;
namespace TypeConversionApplication 
{
   class ExplicitConversion 
   {
      static void Main(string[] args) 
      {
         double d = 5673.74; 
         int i;
         
         // cast double to int.
         i = (int)d;
         Console.WriteLine(i);
         Console.ReadKey();
      }
   }
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

5673

C# Type Conversion Methods

C# provides the following built-in type conversion methods:

Sr.No Methods & Description
1 ToBoolean

Converts a type to a Boolean value, where possible.
2 ToByte

Converts a type to a byte.
3 ToChar

Converts a type to a single Unicode character, where possible.
4 ToDateTime

Converts a type (integer or string type) to date-time structures.
5 ToDecimal

Converts a floating point or integer type to a decimal type.
6 ToDouble

Converts a type to a double type.
7 ToInt16

Converts a type to a 16-bit integer.
8 ToInt32

Converts a type to a 32-bit integer.
9 ToInt64

Converts a type to a 64-bit integer.
10 ToSbyte

Converts a type to a signed byte type.
11 ToSingle

Converts a type to a small floating point number.
12 ToString

Converts a type to a string.
13 ToType

Converts a type to a specified type.
14 ToUInt16

Converts a type to an unsigned int type.
15 ToUInt32

Converts a type to an unsigned long type.
16 ToUInt64

Converts a type to an unsigned big integer.