Array parameter passing in C#: why is it implicitly by reference?

Question

Assume the following code, without any ref keyword, that obviously won't replace the variable passed, since it's passed as value.

class ProgramInt
{
    public static void Test(int i) // Pass by Value
    {
        i = 2; // Working on copy.
    }

    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        int i = 1;
        ProgramInt.Test(i);
        Console.WriteLine(i);
        Console.Read();

        // Output: 1
    }
}

Now to have that function working as expected, one would add the ref keyword as usual:

class ProgramIntRef
{
    public static void Test(ref int i) // Pass by Reference
    {
        i = 2; // Working on reference.
    }

    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        int i = 1;
        ProgramInt.Test(ref i);
        Console.WriteLine(i);
        Console.Read();

        // Output: 2
    }
}

Now I'm perplex as to why array members when passed in functions are implicitly passed by reference. Aren't arrays value types?

class ProgramIntArray
{
    public static void Test(int[] ia) // Pass by Value
    {
        ia[0] = 2; // Working as reference?
    }

    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        int[] test = new int[] { 1 };
        ProgramIntArray.Test(test);
        Console.WriteLine(test[0]);
        Console.Read();

        // Output: 2
    }
}

Answer 1

Can you imagine passing a 2 million element array by value? Now imagine that the element type is decimal. You will have to copy around 240MB 30.5175781MB of data.

Answer 2

No, arrays are classes, which means they are reference types.

Answer 3

As indicated by the MSDN reference, arrays are objects (System.Array is the abstract base type of all arrays) and objects are passed by reference.

Answer 4

Arrays are not passed by reference. References to arrays are passed by value. If it's necessary to change WHAT array a passed-in array variable points to (e.g. to change the size of the array), the variable must be passed by reference.

Answer 5

Other than basic data types you cannot pass anything else as pass by value, Array is collection of basic data types also allowing passing by value on collection would create multiple copies of collection which would be bad on performance.

Answer 6

A good way to remember this is:

• "ref" makes an alias to a variable
• an array is a collection of variables; each element is a variable.

When you pass an array normally, you are passing a collection of variables. The variables in the collection do not change.

When you pass an array with "ref" then you are giving a new name to the variable that contains the array.

When you pass an array element normally you are passing the value in the variable.

When you pass an array element - a variable - with "ref", you are giving a new name to that variable.

Make sense?