RiggsHill Software

Lambda expressions and statements: In the context of Forms programming, is there an advantage over anonymous methods? The lambda form is certainly more succinct and (with a bit of practice) simpler to read. Examples: Some simple callbacks as expressions:

// pop a message
button.Click += ( sender, args ) => MessageBox.Show( "Click" );
// increment a numeric updn
button.Click += ( sender, args ) => number.Value = number.Value + 1;

Here's the same things as anonymous methods:

button.Click += delegate( object sender, EventArgs e ) { MessageBox.Show( "Click" ); }
button.Click += delegate( object sender, EventArgs e ) { number.Value = number.Value + 1; }

Slightly more complex callback as a lambda statement (note the enclosing {}):

this.FormClosing += ( sender, args ) => {
    if ( MessageBox.Show( "Really?", "Quit?", MessageBoxButtons.OKCancel ) != DialogResult.OK )
        args.Cancel = true;
};

And as an anonymous method:

button.Click += delegate( object sender, FormClosingEventArgs args ) {
    if ( MessageBox.Show( "Really?", "Quit?", MessageBoxButtons.OKCancel ) != DialogResult.OK )
        args.Cancel = true;
};

In this context (simple examples) there's very little difference (especially since they apparently compile to nearly identical code) other than brevity. One thing I've found is that my event handlers and EventArgs derivatives tend to have really long names - the brevity of the lambda syntax is very appealing from that standpoint.