.NET Framework - .NET Interview Questions and Answers part 3

23. How can you instantiate a tuple?

The following are two ways to instantiate a tuple:

Using the new operator. For example,

Tuple<String, int> t = new Tuple<String, int> ("Hellow", 2);

Using the Create factory method available in the Tuple class. For example,

Tuple<int, int, int> t = Tuple.Create<int, int, int> (2, 4, 5);

24. Which is the root namespace for fundamental types in .NET Framework?

System.Object is the root namespace for fundamental types in .NET Framework.

25. What are the improvements made in CAS in .NET 4.0?

The CAS mechanism in .NET is used to control and configure the ability of managed code. Earlier, as this policy was applicable for only native applications, the security guarantee was limited. Therefore, developers used to look for alternating solutions, such as operating system-level solutions. This problem was solved in .NET Framework 4 by turning off the machine-wide security. The shared and hosted Web applications can now run more securely. The security policy in .NET Framework 4 has been simplified using the transparency model. This model allows you to run the Web applications without concerning about the CAS policies.

As a result of security policy changes in .NET Framework 4.0, you may encounter compilation warnings and runtime exceptions, if your try to use the obsolete CAS policy types and members either implicitly or explicitly. However, you can avoid the warnings and errors by using the <NetFx40_LegacySecurityPolicy> configuration element in the runtime settings schema to opt into the obsolete CAS policy behavior.

26. What is Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL)?

The .NET Framework is shipped with compilers of all .NET programming languages to develop programs. There are separate compilers for the Visual Basic, C#, and Visual C++ programming languages in .NET Framework. Each .NET compiler produces an intermediate code after compiling the source code. The intermediate code is common for all languages and is understandable only to .NET environment. This intermediate code is known as MSIL.

27. What is lazy initialization?

Lazy initialization is a process by which an object is not initialized until it is first called in your code. The .NET 4.0 introduces a new wrapper class, System.Lazy<T>, for executing the lazy initialization in your application. Lazy initialization helps you to reduce the wastage of resources and memory requirements to improve performance. It also supports thread-safety.

28. How many types of generations are there in a garbage collector?

Memory management in the CLR is divided into three generations that are build up by grouping memory segments. Generations enhance the garbage collection performance. The following are the three types of generations found in a garbage collector:

Generation 0 - When an object is initialized, it is said to be in generation 0.

Generation 1 - The objects that are under garbage collection process are considered to be in generation 1.

Generation 2 - Whenever new objects are created and added to the memory, they are added to generation 0 and the old objects in generation 1 are considered to be in generation 2.

29. Explain covariance and contra-variance in .NET Framework 4.0. Give an example for each.

In .NET 4.0, the CLR supports covariance and contravariance of types in generic interfaces and delegates. Covariance enables you to cast a generic type to its base types, that is, you can assign a instance of type IEnumerable<Tl> to a variable of type IEnumerable<T2> where, T1 derives from T2. For example,

IEnumerable<string> str1= new List<string> ();

IEnumerable<object> str2= str1;

Contravariance allows you to assign a variable of Action<base> to a variable of type Action<derived>. For example,

IComparer<object> obj1 = GetComparer()

IComparer<string> obj2 = obj1;

.NET framework 4.0 uses some language keywords (out and in) to annotate covariance and contra-variance. Out is used for covariance, while in is used for contra-variance.

Variance can be applied only to reference types, generic interfaces, and generic delegates. These cannot be applied to value types and generic types.

30. How do you instantiate a complex number?

The following are the different ways to assign a value to a complex number:

By passing two Double values to its constructor. The first value represents the real, and the second value represents imaginary part of a complex number.
For example,

Complex c1 = new Complex(5, 8); /* It represents (5, 8) */

By assigning a Byte, SByte, Intl6, UIntl6, Int32, UInt32, Int64, UInt64, Single, or Double value to a Complex object. The assigned value represents the real part of the complex number, and its imaginary part becomes 0. For example,

Complex c2 = 15.3; /* It represents (15.3, 0) */

By casting a Decimal or BigInteger value to a Complex object.
For example,

Complex c3 = (Complex) 14.7; /* It represents (14.7, 0) */

Assigning the value returned by an operator to a Complex variable.
For example,

Complex c4 = c1 + c2; /* It represents (20.3, 8) */

31. What is Common Language Specification (CLS)?

CLS is a set of basic rules, which must be followed by each .NET language to be a .NET- compliant language. It enables interoperability between two .NET-compliant languages. CLS is a subset of CTS; therefore, the languages supported by CLS can use each other's class libraries similar to their own. Application programming interfaces (APIs), which are designed by following the rules defined in CLS can be used by all .NET-compliant languages.

 

32. What is the role of the JIT compiler in .NET Framework?

The JIT compiler is an important element of CLR, which loads MSIL on target machines for execution. The MSIL is stored in .NET assemblies after the developer has compiled the code written in any .NET-compliant programming language, such as Visual Basic and C#.

JIT compiler translates the MSIL code of an assembly and uses the CPU architecture of the target machine to execute a .NET application. It also stores the resulting native code so that it is accessible for subsequent calls. If a code executing on a target machine calls a non-native method, the JIT compiler converts the MSIL of that method into native code. JIT compiler also enforces type-safety in runtime environment of .NET Framework. It checks for the values that are passed to parameters of any method.

For example, the JIT compiler detects any event, if a user tries to assign a 32-bit value to a parameter that can only accept 8-bit value.

33. What is difference between System.String and System.StringBuilder classes?

String and StringBuilder classes are used to store string values but the difference in them is that String is immutable (read only) by nature, because a value once assigned to a String object cannot be changed after its creation. When the value in the String object is modified, a new object is created, in memory, with a new value assigned to the String object. On the other hand, the StringBuilder class is mutable, as it occupies the same space even if you change the value. The StringBuilder class is more efficient where you have to perform a large amount of string manipulation.