From Delegate to Lambda: The Key to Understanding Lambda Expressions Lies in Understanding Delegates

Delegates play a tremendously important role in developing applications for the .NET Framework, especially when using C# or Visual Basic. Events, a special application of delegates, are used all over the framework. And the application and possibilities of delegates has only grown over time. C# 2.0 introduced the concept of anonymous methods and C# 3.0 and VB 9 take anonymous methods to the next level with lambda expressions. This paper reviews the evolution of delegates and examines possibilities and syntax of delegates and lambdas in .NET 3.5. Lambda expressions are the new hot thing in .NET 3.5. Almost a core element of applying LINQ, they offer a new syntax when implementing queries.