C# - Differences Between Events and Delegates

Events and Delegates:
Aspect Delegates Events
Definition A delegate is a type that defines a method signature. An event is a higher-level abstraction built on top of delegates.
Usage Primarily used to define and reference methods that can be invoked later. Used for implementing the observer or publisher-subscriber pattern, allowing classes to subscribe to and respond to notifications.
Multicast Supports multicast; can hold references to multiple methods. Uses delegates internally but typically exposes only the `add` and `remove` accessors to control subscription and unsubscription.
Event Handling Semantics Delegates do not provide event handling semantics. Events provide clear semantics for subscription and unsubscription. Subscribers use `+=` to subscribe and `-=` to unsubscribe.
Direct Invocation Methods referenced by delegates can be invoked directly using the delegate object. Event handlers cannot be directly invoked from outside the class that defines the event. They are only invoked by the class that raises the event.
Example

	public delegate void MyDelegate(string message);

MyDelegate myDelegate = SomeMethod;
myDelegate += AnotherMethod;
myDelegate("Hello");

	public class Publisher
{
public event EventHandler MyEvent;

public void RaiseEvent()
{
	MyEvent?.Invoke(this, EventArgs.Empty);
}
}

public class Subscriber
{
public void HandleEvent(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
	Console.WriteLine("Event handled by Subscriber");
}
}

// Usage:
var publisher = new Publisher();
var subscriber = new Subscriber();
publisher.MyEvent += subscriber.HandleEvent;
publisher.RaiseEvent(); // Subscriber's HandleEvent method is called