Search code examples
expressionstatements

C# Can every statement be an expression?

Can every statement be an expression in C#? For example I know that a method invocation statement can be used as an expression and because of that I can do stuff like this:

for (int i = 0; i < 10; Console.WriteLine(i++));

But is it the case with every statement?

Edit: But this thing for some reason doesn't work with the while loop

while (Console.WriteLine(1) > 0) { }

This code gives an error. Maybe you can explain what's happening? I got a bit confused.

Solution

  • In both cases you need an empty statement:

    The empty statement consists of a single semicolon. It does nothing and can be used in places where a statement is required but no action needs to be performed.

    The reason why for(int i = 0; i < 10; Console.WriteLine(i++)); works is because it has an empty statement ; at the end of the block.

    To make the while loop work you need to add an empty statement as well. 

    while(Console.WriteLine(1) > 0);