what is the pros and cons of using out parameter

Question

Anyone can point out the pros and cons of the out parameter. When it is preferred to use out parameter rather than just to return a value.

Answer 1

I would suggest taking a look at the TryParse methods on the built in types like int. The return value is a bool to indicate success while the value is returned via an out parameter. This construct makes it useful to call this method in a looping construct where another return type would/might make it a bit more complicated.

On further reflection one con could be a tendency to just keep adding out parameters to a method instead of properly encapsulating the logic.