Declaring strings public static readonly versus public const versus public static const

Question

In each project we have there is a file used to store the various SQL statements used in that project. There are a handful of variations on how the class is declared and how the

Answer 1

Speedwise the difference between public static string and public const string is negligible.

In IL it's a difference between

ldsfld someaddr.field 

and

ldstr "your const here"

Here lies the answer though. By using const you're literally make your assembly to use that literal every time you use it, so the assembly will be ridden with those literals. With static the will be "pointers" to the central location.

The biggest gotcha lies in the following: you can't perfrom switch case against static strings, but you can against const (as you should).

So, my take on this: if you need to use switch - you have to use use const; if you don't - I'd prolly go with static.

HTH

Nikolai