What is the difference between a value type and a reference type in .NET Core?

In .NET Core, value types and reference types are two fundamental categories of types that can be used to define variables, fields, and parameters.

A value type represents a single value, such as an integer or a floating-point number, and is stored directly in memory. When you create a variable of a value type, the memory is allocated on the stack, and the value is stored in that memory location. Examples of value types in .NET Core include integers, floating-point numbers, Boolean values, and enums.

A reference type, on the other hand, represents a reference to an object that is stored in memory. When you create a variable of a reference type, the memory is allocated on the heap, and the variable holds a reference to the memory location where the object is stored. Examples of reference types in .NET Core include classes, interfaces, and delegates.

One important difference between value types and reference types is how they are treated when passed to a method or assigned to a variable. When a value type is passed to a method or assigned to a variable, a copy of its value is created. This means that changes made to the copy do not affect the original value. With reference types, however, only a reference to the object is passed or assigned, not the object itself. This means that changes made to the object through the reference affect the original object.

Another difference is that value types have a default value, which is the value that is assigned to a variable of that type if no other value is specified. For example, the default value for an integer is 0. Reference types, on the other hand, have a default value of null, which means that they do not refer to any object.