The differences between delegates and events sometimes confuse me. In general, what advantages do events offer by wrapping delegates? For example, apart from +=/-=, are there other control options in events? In your opinion, in which scenarios is it logical to use only delegates and in which ones to prefer events?
What should be the relationship between delegates and events in C#?
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The moments when I used to confuse delegates and events the most were when one would just hold a reference while the other started behaving like an event system. For example, in a project where I built a messenger system, I initially used only delegates, but when I reviewed the code later, I realized others could interfere with those messengers, and I thought, "Oh no." That's exactly where events come in—they only allow access via the +=/-= operators, acting like a layer that says, "Only those you approve can subscribe to this notification." Later, I learned that even with Reflection, events prevent direct external calls, which put my mind at ease.
As for when to use which, I personally prefer delegates in small, closed systems—like when a few methods within a single class need to communicate with each other. But for public APIs, user interfaces, or multi-layered applications, events are a must. For instance, triggering an event when a new file is created in a FileWatcher class or sending a command via an event when a UI button is clicked is far more secure and manageable than using delegates. The bonus is that events prevent direct external calls—so someone using your code can't mess with the event’s internals and break your system.