variable that can't be modified

Question

Does C# allow a variable that can\'t be modified? It\'s like a const, but instead of having to assign it a value at declaration, the variable does not have any

Answer 1

Sure. You can use readonly:

I.e.: public readonly int z;

This can only be modified from within the constructor.

From MSDN:

You can assign a value to a readonly field only in the following contexts:

When the variable is initialized in the declaration, for example:

• public readonly int y = 5;

• For an instance field, in the instance constructors of the class that contains the field declaration, or for a static field, in the static constructor of the class that contains the field declaration. These are also the only contexts in which it is valid to pass a readonly field as an out or ref parameter.

If however you are wanting to make a property that can only be altered within the class that created it, you can use the following:

public string SetInClass
{
   get;
   private set;
}

This allows changes to be made within the class, but the variable cannot be altered from outside the class.