C Sharp Delegates and Plug-in Methods with Delegates

Learn how delegates enable plug-in style methods in C#, allowing behavior to be swapped in at runtime.

The Plug-in Method Concept

A plug-in method is a method that is passed into another method through a delegate parameter, allowing the receiving method's behavior to be customized without modifying its code.

Passing Methods as Parameters

By defining a method parameter as a delegate type, you allow callers to supply any matching method, effectively plugging in custom logic at runtime.

Real-World Use Cases

This pattern is commonly used for sorting with custom comparison logic, filtering collections, and implementing simple event-driven behavior.

Benefits of This Approach

Using delegates for plug-in methods keeps your code flexible and open to extension, since new behavior can be added without changing existing method signatures.