Default Values

You learned earlier that C# does not allow you to use an uninitialized variable, which means the variable must have a value before you use it. Although this idea of definite assignment helps reduce errors, because it is enforced by the compiler, it can be cumbersome if you have to explicitly provide a default value for every field.

To alleviate this burden, fields, or member variables, are always initially assigned with an appropriate default value. Table 2.13 shows the default value for the different predefined data types.