C# Dynamic Array/ index

Question

I am creating an array of string[] in my c# program to save location ("name","Position") of a bunch of elements. The problem is any time I had to introduce a new element I have to change the code at several places according to index of elements:

   string[] list = new string[4];
   list[0] = "[ELEMENT #1 NAME],[ELEMENT #1POSITION]";
   list[1] = "[ELEMENT #2 NAME],[ELEMENT #2POSITION]";
   list[2] = "[ELEMENT #3 NAME],[ELEMENT #3POSITION]";
   list[3] = "[ELEMENT #4 NAME],[ELEMENT #4POSITION]";

What I am looking for is something like an dynamic array so that I do not have to change the index location every time I introduce/ remove an element from list.

Why not use a class with properties Name, and Position, and then use Array or List of that class objects. — Habib
– Habib, Commented Feb 4, 2015 at 20:58
Use List<string> instead. You can build it dynamically, and if you need an array you can just call its .ToString() method. — Ed Gibbs
– Ed Gibbs, Commented Feb 4, 2015 at 20:59

Lloyd · Accepted Answer · 2015-02-04 21:06:04Z

4

You can use List<string> as a dynamic array, it supports IEnumerable<string> for enumerating, or you can call LINQ and ToArray().

For example:

var list = new List<string>();

list.Add("[ELEMENT #1 NAME],[ELEMENT #1POSITION]");

string array[] = list.ToArray();

However, I'd actually recommend a dictionary in this case and not a list, a dictionary will let you store key-value pairs.

For example:

var dict = new Dictionary<string,int>();

dict["Element #1 Name"] = #Element #1 Position#;

Note that I've no real idea what type the position is, could be an int, a string or even a Point, but you get the idea.

You then don't need to bother with indices but refer to everything by name:

var el1_pos = dict["Element #1 Name"];
var el999_pos = dict["Element #999 Name"];

edited Feb 4, 2015 at 21:06

answered Feb 4, 2015 at 20:59

Lloyd

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Selman Genç · Accepted Answer · 2015-02-04 20:59:05Z

1

You can use List<T> if you want a dynamically sized collection and don't bother with the index. And you should also create a type with two properties (Name and Position) and have a list of that type instead of storing them as string. It's easier to maintain, you don't have to parse the string every time you wanna get/set the Name or Position of a particular object.

answered Feb 4, 2015 at 20:59

Selman Genç

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BradleyDotNET · Accepted Answer · 2015-02-04 20:59:06Z

1

Normally, you would just use a List<String> here. The Add method allows you to just add an element, no indexing required.

List<string> list = new List<string>();
list.Add("Test");

In your case, since you have "Name" and "Position" associated with each other, consider using a List<PositionedThing> (a custom class in other words) or a Dictionary<String, String> to store your mappings.

The class would look like:

public class PositionedThing
{
    public String Name {get; set;}
    public String Position {get; set;}
}

answered Feb 4, 2015 at 20:59

BradleyDotNET

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fallaciousreasoning · Accepted Answer · 2015-02-04 20:58:52Z

0

Try

List<string> list = new List<string>();
list.Add("[ELEMENT #1 NAME],[ELEMENT #1POSITION]")

Unless I've misunderstood your question that should be what you want

answered Feb 4, 2015 at 20:58

fallaciousreasoning

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1 Comment

Max Over a year ago

Thanks Lloyd, BradleyDotNET, Selman22, stakx & fallaciousreasoning , It solved the problem, Much appreciated.

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