Reading C# Syntax Templates

When new C# syntax is introduced, this book usually gives both specific examples and general syntax templates. In these templates, the typeface shows the role of each part:

Typeface	Meaning
Typewriter font	Text to be written exactly as shown
Bold	A place where you can use an arbitrary identifier.
Emphasized	A place where you can use an arbitrary expression (which might be a single variable name).
Normal text	A description of what goes in that position, without giving explicit syntax

Parts that are not written exactly as shown are named descriptively, based on how they are used in the syntax.

As a start, here is the general syntax for declarations and assignment statements:

Declaration Syntax Options

type variableName ;

or with initialization:

type variableName = initialValue ;

or there can be a list of variables of the same type, for instance a list of three variables:

type variableName1 , variableName2 , variableName3 ;

Some or all of the variables in the list could also have initializers.

Space is allocated for each variable named, according to its type. Where there is an initializer, an initial value is set for the variable.

Assignment Syntax

variableName = expression ;

The expression is evaluated before its value is assigned to variableName.