C# Feature - ref struct

Overview

ref struct defines stack-only types with strong lifetime rules, which is the basis for types such as Span<T>.

Introduced In

C# 7.2 (2017)

Example

public ref struct ParserState
{
  public Span<byte> Buffer;
}

Gotchas & Best Practices

• Ref structs cannot be boxed, captured by lambdas, or used as fields in reference types.
• Reach for them only when lifetime constraints are a real benefit.