What is the difference between the Record data type and Struct in programming?

In C# record and struct are different data types with different purposes and behaviors.

• Record is a reference type, designed for creating immutable objects with value semantics. Records automatically implement Equals(), GetHashCode(), and ToString() methods based on property values, which is convenient for comparison and copying objects.

• Struct is a value type, stored on the stack and copied by value. Structs are typically used for small, lightweight objects where performance and minimizing heap allocations are important.

Main differences:

Characteristic	Record (class)	Struct
Type	Reference type	Value type
Mutability	Usually immutable	Can be mutable
Storage	On the heap	On the stack or inline
Comparison	By value (property values)	By value (all fields)
Usage	For complex objects with logic	For lightweight data

Example of a record:

public record Person(string FirstName, string LastName);

var p1 = new Person("Ivan", "Ivanov");
var p2 = new Person("Ivan", "Ivanov");
Console.WriteLine(p1 == p2); // True, comparison by values

Example of a struct:

public struct Point
{
    public int X { get; set; }
    public int Y { get; set; }
}

var point1 = new Point { X = 1, Y = 2 };
var point2 = point1; // copy by value
point2.X = 3;
Console.WriteLine(point1.X); // 1