Ndtyjky

Let's say that I have a class in C# with overloaded implicit and explicit operators:

public static implicit operator CSClass(int a) => ...;

public static explicit operator int(CSClass a) => ...;

I compile this project as class library.

In F# now I can add my operator for implicit conversions and use it:

#r @"C:pathto.dll"

open Some.Namespace.ToMyClass

let inline (!>) (x:^a) : ^b = ((^a or ^b) : (static member op_Implicit : ^a -> ^b) x)

let a : CSClass = !> 5

But how can I do an explicit overloaded conversion in F#? (CSClass to int)

It is my understanding that F# does not usually do explicit conversions. Instead, you would just use a function. For example, if you have a char and want to convert that explicitly into an int, in C# you write:

char theChar = 'A';

int convertedChar = (int)theChar;

In F#, the int operator (function) is used for the same purpose:

let theChar = 'A'

let convertedChar = int theChar;

Therefore the idiomatic way to do the conversion would be something like this:

module Some.Namespace.MyClass

let toInt (x : MyClass) = [...]

You would use it like so:

let convertedMyClass = MyClass.toInt myClass

It can also be piped:

funcReturningMyClass x y

|> MyClass.toInt

|> printfn "%d"