Are EventArg classes needed now that we have generics

Question

With generics, is there ever a reason to create specific derived EventArg classes

It seems like now you can simply use them on the fly with a generic implementation.

Should i go thorugh all of my examples and remove my eventArg classes (StringEventArgs, MyFooEventArgs, etc . .)

public class EventArgs<T> : EventArgs
{
    public EventArgs(T value)
    {
        m_value = value;
    }

    private T m_value;

    public T Value
    {
        get { return m_value; }
    }
}

Answer 1

Look at the Custom Generic EventArgs article written by Matthew Cochran, in that article he describes how to expand it even further with two and three members.

Using generic EventArgs have their uses, and of course their misuses, as type information is lost in the process.

public class City {...}

public delegate void FireNuclearMissile(object sender, EventArgs<City> args);
public event FireNuclearMissile FireNuclearMissileEvent;

public delegate void QueryPopulation(object sender, EventArgs<City> args);
public event QueryPopulation QueryPopulationEvent;

In the following example it is type-safe, but a bit more LOC:

class City {...}

public class FireNuclearMissileEventArgs : EventArgs
{
    public FireNuclearMissileEventArgs(City city)
    {
        this.city = city;
    }

    private City city;

    public City City
    {
        get { return this.city; }
    }
}

public delegate void FireNuclearMissile(object sender, FireNuclearMissileEventArgs args);
public event FireNuclearMissile FireNuclearMissileEvent;

public class QueryPopulationEventArgs : EventArgs
{
    public QueryPopulationEventArgs(City city)
    {
        this.city = city;
    }

    private City city;

    public City City
    {
        get { return this.city; }
    }
}

public delegate void QueryPopulation(object sender, QueryPopulationEventArgs args);
public event QueryPopulation QueryPopulationEvent;

Answer 2

I think Tuple-style EventArgs are useful. Just like Tuple's, they can be misused, but it seems my laziness is stronger than my sense of caution. I implemented the following:

public static class TupleEventArgs
{
    static public TupleEventArgs<T1> Create<T1>(T1 item1)
    {
        return new TupleEventArgs<T1>(item1);
    }

    static public TupleEventArgs<T1, T2> Create<T1, T2>(T1 item1, T2 item2)
    {
        return new TupleEventArgs<T1, T2>(item1, item2);
    }

    static public TupleEventArgs<T1, T2, T3> Create<T1, T2, T3>(T1 item1, T2 item2, T3 item3)
    {
        return new TupleEventArgs<T1, T2, T3>(item1, item2, item3);
    }
}

public class TupleEventArgs<T1> : EventArgs
{
    public T1 Item1;

    public TupleEventArgs(T1 item1)
    {
        Item1 = item1;
    }
}

public class TupleEventArgs<T1, T2> : EventArgs
{
    public T1 Item1;
    public T2 Item2;

    public TupleEventArgs(T1 item1, T2 item2)
    {
        Item1 = item1;
        Item2 = item2;
    }
}

public class TupleEventArgs<T1, T2, T3> : EventArgs
{
    public T1 Item1;
    public T2 Item2;
    public T3 Item3;

    public TupleEventArgs(T1 item1, T2 item2, T3 item3)
    {
        Item1 = item1;
        Item2 = item2;
        Item3 = item3;
    }
}

Can be used as follows (when used with an event raiser extension)

public event EventHandler<TupleEventArgs<string,string,string>> NewEvent;

NewEvent.Raise(this, TupleEventArgs.Create("1", "2", "3"));

Answer 3

As TcKs already said: Use EventArgs<T> if you only need to pass one value, otherwise derive from EventArgs (or EventArgs<T>, whatever you want).