C# abstract struct

Question

How can I achieve inheritance (or similar) with structs in C#? I know that an abstract struct isn\'t possible, but I need to achieve something similar.

I need it as

Answer 1

Maybe you can use a "union" type:

enum VertexType : byte { 
  Vertex,
  ColorVertex
}

[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Explicit)]
struct Vertex {

  [FieldOffset(0)]
  public readonly VertexType Type;

  [FieldOffset(1)]
  public readonly int SizeInBytes;

  public Vertex(VertexType type /* other necessary parameters... */) {
    Type = type;
    // set default values for fields...
    switch (Type) {
      // set the fields for each type:
      case VertexType.ColorVertex: 
        SizeInBytes = (3 + 4) * 4; 
        // other fields ...
        break;
      default: 
        SizeInBytes = 2; // or whatever...
        // other fields ...
        break;
    }
  }

  // other fields with overlapping offsets for the different vertex types...

}

Just remember to make it immutable and to access only the fields that make sense for each type.