Is string actually an array of chars or does it just have an indexer?

Question

As the following code is possible in C#, I am intersted whether string is actually an array of chars:

string a=\"TEST\";
char C=a[0]; // will be T
         


        

Answer 1

String is a class which takes an array of char to initialized itself, So when you try to fetch the element at some index it returns char. Check the string class

public sealed class String : IComparable, ICloneable, IConvertible, IComparable, IEnumerable, IEnumerable, IEquatable
    {
        // Summary:
        //     Initializes a new instance of the System.String class to the value indicated
        //     by an array of Unicode characters.
        //
        // Parameters:
        //   value:
        //     An array of Unicode characters.
        [SecuritySafeCritical]
        public String(char[] value);
    }

Also see String class declaration.

public sealed class String : IComparable, ICloneable, IConvertible, IComparable, IEnumerable, IEnumerable, IEquatable

Which is inherited by IEnumerable.

Inside the string class there is a get property which returns the char when index is passed, see the image. Which clearly says that Gets the System.Char object at a specified position in the current System.String

public char this[int index] { get; }