Why is Action/Func better than a regular Method in .Net?

Question

I much prefer using an Action or a Func if I need a quick reusable piece of code, however others on my team don\'t like them or understand them.
At the moment my only re

Answer 1

In general I agree with the other answerers: Blindly replacing function definitions with Action/Func is not a good thing. Action and Func are not the future of .NET. They are a tool which is very useful but like any tool can be misused.

So if you tend to write code like this

class SomeClass {
    Action<...> a1 = (..) => {};
    Func<...> f1 = (..) => {};
    Action<...> a2 = (..) => {};
    ...
}

That is certainly not a good thing.

If you do this a lot:

  void SomeMethod()
  {
      Action<..> a = (..) => {};
      ...
      a();
  }

then this is actually a good way of encapsulating a little helper method without polluting the class.

To argue your specific case: If hideControl is only used in a very specific case the private helper method would be preferred. If it is required for a lot of FormViews then the extension method makes more sense. Extension methods are also a tool which can be misused as it can lead to pollution of the public interface for a class. Although you can limit it through the use of namespaces.

I usually go by this guideline: If you require a helper method which is useful in a lot of places and situations and can be made fairly generic I create an extension method. If it is a helper method which is required for a specific class but in a several places (methods) in that class then I create a private method. If it is a helper which I only need in one specific place then I make it a Action/Func inside that method.