Defining a list

[AstraGamesStudios]

hey! just wondering… is there any difference to defining a new list like this:
“private List< Unit > unitList = new List< Unit >();”
as apposed to this: “private List< Unit > unitList;” and then in the awake (or in this case in the constructer): "unitList = new List< Unit >(); " ?
thanks!

[bixarrio]

Not really, the only difference is when these are created. But if we are talking about the constructor, the ‘when’ is minimal. In the first one - private List<Unit> unitList = new List<Unit>(); - the list is created before the constructor is called. In the second one it is - obviously - created when the constructor is called. It doesn’t really matter because the constructor is usually executed immediately after. With Awake it’s a little different because something (another Awake) may want to access that list before the containing component’s Awake was called. These are ‘race conditions’ which may cause issues further down the line, though

[AstraGamesStudios]

so if i understand, either would work in almost any situation (except for “racing” cases)… thanks!

[Brian_Trotter]

As a rule of thumb, I strongly recommend using the = initializer with all List and Dictionary declarations.

• No harm is done if Awake() creates a new list anyways, the initialized one just gets garbage collected
• One of the most common null reference errors occurs when a global List is declared, but never initialized.

[AstraGamesStudios]

thanks! so i should use: private List< Unit > unitList = new List< Unit >(); instead of on defining on start or awake… thanks!