Should You Avoid Null Checks with Anonymous Empty Delegates?

Avoiding Null Checks with Anonymous Empty Delegates: Analyzing the Pros and Cons

Adding an anonymous empty delegate to an event declaration raises questions about its potential disadvantages. While the benefit of obviating null checks is evident, the full implications of this idiom remain unclear.

This idiom has been discussed in various online forums, but it's crucial to delve deeper into potential downsides. Concerns arise regarding its widespread usage and the potential for maintenance headaches. Additionally, the performance impact of the empty event subscriber call is a valid consideration.

The Performance Perspective

Contrary to apprehensions, the empty event subscriber call does not incur a performance penalty. In fact, a more efficient approach exists to address both null checks and performance concerns.

An Extension-Method Solution

An extension method can be defined as follows:

public static void Raise(this EventHandler handler, object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    if(handler != null)
    {
        handler(sender, e);
    }
}

With this extension in place, event raising can be simplified to:

// Works, even for null events.
MyButtonClick.Raise(this, EventArgs.Empty);

By utilizing this method, null checks become a thing of the past, providing a cleaner and more efficient solution.

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