Partial classes and partial methods

Partial classes and partial methods



Partial classes and partial methods are two programming language features of .NET programming languages that make it possible for developers to extend and enhance auto-generated code.

Partial classes allow for a single class's members to be divided among multiple source code files. At compile-time these multiple files get combined into a single class as if the class's members had all been specified in a single file. Compare with partial methods.

Partial methods are methods defined in a partial class that are (optionally) divided across two files. With partial methods one file contains the method signature - the method name, its return type, and its input parameters - while the body is (optionally) defined in a separate file. If the partial method's body is not defined then the compiler automatically removes the partial method signature and all calls to the method at compile-time.