Aggregation (HAS-A Relationship) in C#: Promoting Code Reusability and Reducing Redundancy

Learn about aggregation, a crucial design pattern in object-oriented programming, representing a "HAS-A" relationship between classes. This tutorial explains aggregation in C#, demonstrates its implementation with examples, and highlights its benefits in promoting code reusability and reducing redundancy.

Aggregation (HAS-A Relationship) in C#

Aggregation in C# is a type of association between classes representing a "HAS-A" relationship. It's a way to reuse existing classes within another class, promoting code reusability and reducing redundancy.

Understanding Aggregation

In aggregation, one class (the aggregate class) contains a reference to another class (the component class). The aggregate class *has* a component class as a member. The component class can exist independently of the aggregate class.

Example: Employee and Address

This example demonstrates aggregation. The `Employee` class *has* an `Address` object as a member:

public class Address {
    // ... (Address properties and constructor) ...
}

public class Employee {
    public Address Address { get; set; } // Employee HAS-A Address
    // ... (Employee properties and constructor) ...
}

The `Employee` class doesn't own the `Address` object; the `Address` object can exist independently. The `Employee` simply uses it to store the employee's address information.