C# return struct reference from method

Question

In C++, returning a reference of an object allocated on the stack in a method, yields garbage values due to the fact, that the stack object is destroyed as soon the method leaves the scope. Given that in C# structs are allocated on the stack, would this yield garbage values as well?

struct Test
{
    //data
}

Test Foo()
{
    Test t1 = new Test();
    return t1;
}

Answer 1

I think you should read this: http://mustoverride.com/ref-returns-and-locals/

In short, the C# Design team decided to disallow returning local variables by reference.

– Disallow returning local variables by reference. This is the solution that was chosen for C#. - To guarantee that a reference does not outlive the referenced variable C# does not allow returning references to local variables by reference. Interestingly, this is the same approach used by Rust, although for slightly different reasons. (Rust is a RAII language and actively destroys locals when exiting scopes)

Even with the ref keyword, if you go ahead and try this:

public struct Test
{
    public int a;
}

public ref Test GetValueByRef()
{
    var test = new Test();
    return ref test;
}

You will see that the compiler errors out with the following:

Cannot return local 'test' by reference because it is not a ref local

Answer 2

keyword struct in C# is allow to describe value type. When you return value type from method, it creates new copy of it.