The volatile keyword indicates that a field might be modified by multiple concurrently executing threads. Fields that are declared volatile are not subject to compiler optimizations that assume access by a single thread. This ensures that the most up-to-date value is present in the field at all times.

The volatile modifier is usually used for a field that is accessed by multiple threads without using the lock Statement (C# Reference) statement to serialize access. See How to: Create and Terminate Threads (C# Programming Guide) for an example of volatile in a multi-threaded scenario.

The volatile keyword can be applied to fields of these types:

• Reference types.

• Pointer types (in an unsafe context). Note that while the pointer itself can be volatile, the object that it points to cannot. In other words, you cannot declare a "pointer to volatile."

• Integral types such as sbyte, byte, short, ushort, int, uint, char, float, and bool.

• An enum type with an integral base type.

• Generic type parameters known to be reference types.

• IntPtr and UIntPtr.

The volatile keyword can only be applied to fields of a class or struct. Local variables cannot be declared volatile.

// csharp_volatile.cs
// compile with: /target:library
class Test
{
   public volatile int i;

   Test(int _i)
   {
      i = _i;
   }
}