Action<T1,T2,T3> Delegate

Definition

Encapsulates a method that has three parameters and does not return a value.

generic <typename T1, typename T2, typename T3>
public delegate void Action(T1 arg1, T2 arg2, T3 arg3);
public delegate void Action<in T1,in T2,in T3>(T1 arg1, T2 arg2, T3 arg3);
public delegate void Action<T1,T2,T3>(T1 arg1, T2 arg2, T3 arg3);
type Action<'T1, 'T2, 'T3> = delegate of 'T1 * 'T2 * 'T3 -> unit
Public Delegate Sub Action(Of In T1, In T2, In T3)(arg1 As T1, arg2 As T2, arg3 As T3)
Public Delegate Sub Action(Of T1, T2, T3)(arg1 As T1, arg2 As T2, arg3 As T3)

Type Parameters

T1

The type of the first parameter of the method that this delegate encapsulates.

This type parameter is contravariant. That is, you can use either the type you specified or any type that is less derived. For more information about covariance and contravariance, see Covariance and Contravariance in Generics.
T2

The type of the second parameter of the method that this delegate encapsulates.

This type parameter is contravariant. That is, you can use either the type you specified or any type that is less derived. For more information about covariance and contravariance, see Covariance and Contravariance in Generics.
T3

The type of the third parameter of the method that this delegate encapsulates.

This type parameter is contravariant. That is, you can use either the type you specified or any type that is less derived. For more information about covariance and contravariance, see Covariance and Contravariance in Generics.

Parameters

arg1
T1

The first parameter of the method that this delegate encapsulates.

arg2
T2

The second parameter of the method that this delegate encapsulates.

arg3
T3

The third parameter of the method that this delegate encapsulates.

Remarks

You can use the Action<T1,T2,T3> delegate to pass a method as a parameter without explicitly declaring a custom delegate. The encapsulated method must correspond to the method signature that is defined by this delegate. This means that the encapsulated method must have three parameters that are all passed to it by value, and it must not return a value. (In C#, the method must return void. In F#, the method or function must return unit. In Visual Basic, it must be defined by the SubEnd Sub construct. It can also be a method that returns a value that is ignored.) Typically, such a method is used to perform an operation.

Note

To reference a method that has three parameters and returns a value, use the generic Func<T1,T2,T3,TResult> delegate instead.

When you use the Action<T1,T2,T3> delegate, you do not have to explicitly define a delegate that encapsulates a method with three parameters. For example, the following code explicitly declares a delegate named StringCopy and assigns a reference to the CopyStrings method to its delegate instance.

using System;

delegate void StringCopy(string[] stringArray1,
                         string[] stringArray2,
                         int indexToStart);

public class TestDelegate
{
   public static void Main()
   {
      string[] ordinals = {"First", "Second", "Third", "Fourth", "Fifth"};
      string[] copiedOrdinals = new string[ordinals.Length];
      StringCopy copyOperation = CopyStrings;
      copyOperation(ordinals, copiedOrdinals, 3);
      foreach (string ordinal in copiedOrdinals)
         Console.WriteLine(string.IsNullOrEmpty(ordinal) ? "<None>" : ordinal);
   }

   private static void CopyStrings(string[] source, string[] target, int startPos)
   {
      if (source.Length != target.Length)
         throw new IndexOutOfRangeException("The source and target arrays must have the same number of elements.");

      for (int ctr = startPos; ctr <= source.Length - 1; ctr++)
         target[ctr] = string.Copy(source[ctr]);
   }
}
open System

type StringCopy = delegate of stringArray1: string [] * 
                              stringArray2: string [] * 
                              indexToStart: int -> unit

let copyStrings (source: string []) (target: string []) startPos =
    if source.Length <> target.Length then
        raise (IndexOutOfRangeException "The source and target arrays must have the same number of elements.")

    for i = startPos to source.Length - 1 do
        target.[i] <- source.[i]

let ordinals = [| "First"; "Second"; "Third"; "Fourth"; "Fifth" |]
let copiedOrdinals: string [] = Array.zeroCreate ordinals.Length

let copyOperation = StringCopy copyStrings

copyOperation.Invoke(ordinals, copiedOrdinals, 3)

for ordinal in copiedOrdinals do
    printfn "%s" (if String.IsNullOrEmpty ordinal then "<None>" else ordinal)
Delegate Sub StringCopy(stringArray1() As String, _
                        stringArray2() As String, _
                        indexToStart As Integer)

Module TestDelegate
   Public Sub Main()
      Dim ordinals() As String = {"First", "Second", "Third", "Fourth", "Fifth"}
      Dim copiedOrdinals(ordinals.Length - 1) As String
      Dim copyOperation As StringCopy = AddressOf CopyStrings
      copyOperation(ordinals, copiedOrdinals, 3)
      For Each ordinal As String In copiedOrdinals
         Console.WriteLine(ordinal)
      Next    
   End Sub
   
   Private Sub CopyStrings(source() As String, target() As String, startPos As Integer)
      If source.Length <> target.Length Then 
         Throw New IndexOutOfRangeException("The source and target arrays must have the same number of elements.")
      End If
      For ctr As Integer = startPos to source.Length - 1
         target(ctr) = String.Copy(source(ctr))
      Next
   End Sub
End Module

The following example simplifies this code by instantiating the Action<T1,T2,T3> delegate instead of explicitly defining a new delegate and assigning a named method to it.

using System;

public class TestAction3
{
   public static void Main()
   {
      string[] ordinals = {"First", "Second", "Third", "Fourth", "Fifth"};
      string[] copiedOrdinals = new string[ordinals.Length];
      Action<string[], string[], int> copyOperation = CopyStrings;
      copyOperation(ordinals, copiedOrdinals, 3);
      foreach (string ordinal in copiedOrdinals)
         Console.WriteLine(string.IsNullOrEmpty(ordinal) ? "<None>" : ordinal);
   }

   private static void CopyStrings(string[] source, string[] target, int startPos)
   {
      if (source.Length != target.Length)
         throw new IndexOutOfRangeException("The source and target arrays must have the same number of elements.");

      for (int ctr = startPos; ctr <= source.Length - 1; ctr++)
         target[ctr] = string.Copy(source[ctr]);
   }
}
open System

let copyStrings (source: string []) (target: string []) startPos =
    if source.Length <> target.Length then
        raise (IndexOutOfRangeException "The source and target arrays must have the same number of elements.")

    for i = startPos to source.Length - 1 do
        target.[i] <- source.[i]

let ordinals = [| "First"; "Second"; "Third"; "Fourth"; "Fifth" |]
let copiedOrdinals = Array.zeroCreate<string> ordinals.Length

let copyOperation = Action<_,_,_> copyStrings

copyOperation.Invoke(ordinals, copiedOrdinals, 3)

for ordinal in copiedOrdinals do
    printfn "%s" (if String.IsNullOrEmpty ordinal then "<None>" else ordinal)
Module TestAction3
   Public Sub Main()
      Dim ordinals() As String = {"First", "Second", "Third", "Fourth", "Fifth"}
      Dim copiedOrdinals(ordinals.Length - 1) As String
      Dim copyOperation As Action(Of String(), String(), Integer) = AddressOf CopyStrings
      copyOperation(ordinals, copiedOrdinals, 3)
      For Each ordinal As String In copiedOrdinals
         Console.WriteLine(ordinal)
      Next    
   End Sub
   
   Private Sub CopyStrings(source() As String, target() As String, startPos As Integer)
      If source.Length <> target.Length Then 
         Throw New IndexOutOfRangeException("The source and target arrays must have the same number of elements.")
      End If
      For ctr As Integer = startPos to source.Length - 1
         target(ctr) = String.Copy(source(ctr))
      Next
   End Sub
End Module

You can also use the Action<T1,T2,T3> delegate with anonymous methods in C#, as the following example illustrates. (For an introduction to anonymous methods, see Anonymous Methods.)

using System;

public class TestAnon
{
   public static void Main()
   {
      string[] ordinals = {"First", "Second", "Third", "Fourth", "Fifth"};
      string[] copiedOrdinals = new string[ordinals.Length];
      Action<string[], string[], int> copyOperation = delegate(string[] s1,
                                                               string[] s2,
                                                               int pos)
                                      { CopyStrings(s1, s2, pos); };
      copyOperation(ordinals, copiedOrdinals, 3);
      foreach (string ordinal in copiedOrdinals)
         Console.WriteLine(string.IsNullOrEmpty(ordinal) ? "<None>" : ordinal);
   }

   private static void CopyStrings(string[] source, string[] target, int startPos)
   {
      if (source.Length != target.Length)
         throw new IndexOutOfRangeException("The source and target arrays must have the same number of elements.");

      for (int ctr = startPos; ctr <= source.Length - 1; ctr++)
         target[ctr] = string.Copy(source[ctr]);
   }
}

You can also assign a lambda expression to an Action<T1,T2,T3> delegate instance, as the following example illustrates. (For an introduction to lambda expressions, see Lambda Expressions (C#) or Lambda Expressions (F#).)

using System;

public class TestLambda
{
   public static void Main()
   {
      string[] ordinals = {"First", "Second", "Third", "Fourth", "Fifth"};
      string[] copiedOrdinals = new string[ordinals.Length];
      Action<string[], string[], int> copyOperation = (s1, s2, pos) =>
                                      CopyStrings(s1, s2, pos);
      copyOperation(ordinals, copiedOrdinals, 3);
      foreach (string ordinal in copiedOrdinals)
         Console.WriteLine(ordinal == string.Empty ? "<None>" : ordinal);
   }

   private static void CopyStrings(string[] source, string[] target, int startPos)
   {
      if (source.Length != target.Length)
         throw new IndexOutOfRangeException("The source and target arrays must have the same number of elements.");

      for (int ctr = startPos; ctr <= source.Length - 1; ctr++)
         target[ctr] = string.Copy(source[ctr]);
   }
}
open System

let copyStrings (source: string []) (target: string []) startPos =
    if source.Length <> target.Length then
        raise (IndexOutOfRangeException "The source and target arrays must have the same number of elements.")

    for i = startPos to source.Length - 1 do
        target.[i] <- source.[i]

let ordinals = [| "First"; "Second"; "Third"; "Fourth"; "Fifth" |]
let copiedOrdinals: string [] = Array.zeroCreate ordinals.Length

let copyOperation = Action<_,_,_> (fun s1 s2 pos -> copyStrings s1 s2 pos)

copyOperation.Invoke(ordinals, copiedOrdinals, 3)

for ordinal in copiedOrdinals do
    printfn "%s" (if String.IsNullOrEmpty ordinal then "<None>" else ordinal)
Public Module TestLambda
   Public Sub Main()
      Dim ordinals() As String = {"First", "Second", "Third", "Fourth", "Fifth"}
      Dim copiedOrdinals(ordinals.Length - 1) As String           
      Dim copyOperation As Action(Of String(), String(), Integer) = _
                           Sub(s1, s2, pos) CopyStrings(s1, s2, pos) 
      copyOperation(ordinals, copiedOrdinals, 3)
      For Each ordinal As String In copiedOrdinals
         If String.IsNullOrEmpty(ordinal) Then
            Console.WriteLine("<None>")
         Else
            Console.WriteLine(ordinal)
         End If      
      Next   
   End Sub

   Private Function CopyStrings(source() As String, target() As String, startPos As Integer) As Integer
      If source.Length <> target.Length Then 
         Throw New IndexOutOfRangeException("The source and target arrays must have the same number of elements.")
      End If
      
      For ctr As Integer = startPos To source.Length - 1 
         target(ctr) = String.Copy(source(ctr))
      Next
      Return source.Length - startPos 
   End Function
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
'       Fourth
'       Fifth

Extension Methods

GetMethodInfo(Delegate)

Gets an object that represents the method represented by the specified delegate.

Applies to

See also