C# List vs. List: Why the Type Incompatibility?

C# List<string> and List<object>: Understanding Type Safety

In C#, assigning a List<string> to a List<object> variable is prohibited due to the language's strong typing system. Each variable is strictly bound to its declared type, ensuring type safety. A List<string> exclusively holds strings, whereas a List<object> can accommodate any object type.

Consider this scenario:

<code class="language-csharp">List<string> stringList = new List<string>();
List<object> objectList;
objectList = stringList; // This is NOT allowed</code>

Allowing this assignment would compromise type safety. If you subsequently added a non-string object (e.g., an integer) to objectList, iterating through stringList would cause a runtime exception when encountering the incompatible object.

Conversely, casting List<object> to List<string>:

<code class="language-csharp">List<object> objectList = new List<object>();
List<string> stringList;
stringList = (List<string>)objectList; // This is also NOT allowed</code>

While seemingly plausible, this is generally impractical. It opens the door to adding non-string elements to objectList, leading to unpredictable behavior and potential runtime errors. The C# compiler prevents this to maintain data integrity. The core principle is to prevent situations where type mismatches could lead to unexpected crashes or data corruption.

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