Naming a variable within a loop

Question

I'm sorry if a similar question is posted on here. I could not find this answer anywhere, but perhaps I could have if I knew which key words to search.

I am trying to name a variable within a for loop or find an alternative way to solve my problem. Here is an example of what I am trying to do.

for (int i = 0; i < 100; i++)
{
    string strName = "ImportedBody" + (i+1).ToString();
    IBody strName = model.GetEntity(strName) as IBody;
}

Essentially, my goal is to shorten:

IBody ImportedBody1 = model.GetEntity("ImportedBody1") as IBody;
IBody ImportedBody2 = model.GetEntity("ImportedBody2") as IBody;
IBody ImportedBody3 = model.GetEntity("ImportedBody3") as IBody;
IBody ImportedBody4 = model.GetEntity("ImportedBody4") as IBody;
IBody ImportedBody5 = model.GetEntity("ImportedBody5") as IBody;
IBody ImportedBody6 = model.GetEntity("ImportedBody6") as IBody;
...
IBody ImportedBody100 = model.GetEntity("ImportedBody100") as IBody;

into a for loop or something that makes that quicker to write.

The name could also change if that is a problem. For example:

IBody ImportedBody1a = model.GetEntity("ImportedBody1") as IBody;
IBody ImportedBody2a = model.GetEntity("ImportedBody2") as IBody;
IBody ImportedBody3a = model.GetEntity("ImportedBody3") as IBody;
IBody ImportedBody4a = model.GetEntity("ImportedBody4") as IBody;
IBody ImportedBody5a = model.GetEntity("ImportedBody5") as IBody;
IBody ImportedBody6a = model.GetEntity("ImportedBody6") as IBody;
...
IBody ImportedBody100a = model.GetEntity("ImportedBody100") as IBody;

Here are a few notes on what this program is supposed to do. The program I am writing is interacting with a CAD program. If I import geometry into CAD then I have a list of bodies named "ImportedBody1, ImportedBody2, ImportedBody3, etc.. In order to edit that body within my c# program I have to get that from the CAD program using:

IBody Name = model.GetEntity(StringNameAsLabeledWithinCAD) as IBody;

Now I can do things like change the direction that it is facing:

Name.SetNormalDirection(0, 1, 0);

This sounds like a job for a collection, not individual variables. — David
– David, Commented Jun 10, 2016 at 18:56
Just use an array or a List<IBody> instead. Why do you think you actually need 100 variables? — Jon Skeet
– Jon Skeet, Commented Jun 10, 2016 at 18:56

David · Accepted Answer · 2016-06-10 21:33:38Z

3

I am trying to name a variable within a for loop

The simple answer is... don't.

This is a job for collections (arrays, lists, etc.), not individual variables. Something perhaps as simple as this:

var importedBodies = new List<IBody>();
for (int i = 1; i <= 100; i++)
{
    var name = string.Format("ImportedBody{0}", i);
    var body = model.GetEntity(name) as IBody;

    importedBodies.Add(body);
}

After which you would have a collection called importedBodies which contains your 100 instances. You can directly reference a specific one with an index, such as:

importedBodies[10] // The 11th imported body

Or you can even query the data to find elements based on other criteria:

importedBodies.Where(b => b.SomeProperty = "some value") // or any other expressions to query/transform the values

edited Jun 10, 2016 at 21:33

answered Jun 10, 2016 at 19:15

David

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1 Comment

yeah-buddy Over a year ago

You're missing the token for string.Format("ImportedBody", i). I think you mean string.Format("ImportedBody{0}", i) :)

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