Return multiple values to a method caller

Question

I read the C++ version of this question but didn\'t really understand it.

Can someone please explain clearly if it can be done and how?

Answer 1

In C#7 There is a new Tuple syntax:

static (string foo, int bar) GetTuple()
{
    return ("hello", 5);
}

You can return this as a record:

var result = GetTuple();
var foo = result.foo
// foo == "hello"

You can also use the new deconstructor syntax:

(string foo) = GetTuple();
// foo == "hello"

Be careful with serialisation however, all this is syntactic sugar - in the actual compiled code this will be a Tuple (as per the accepted answer) with Item1 and Item2 instead of foo and bar. That means that serialisation (or deserialisation) will use those property names instead.

So, for serialisation declare a record class and return that instead.

Also new in C#7 is an improved syntax for out parameters. You can now declare the out inline, which is better suited in some contexts:

if(int.TryParse("123", out int result)) {
    // Do something with result
}

However, mostly you'll use this in .NET's own libraries, rather than in you own functions.