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This page is specific to
Microsoft Visual Studio 2008/.NET Framework 3.5

Other versions are also available for the following:
.NET Framework Class Library
Dictionary<(Of <(TKey, TValue>)>)..::.Item Property

Gets or sets the value associated with the specified key.

Namespace:  System.Collections.Generic
Assembly:  mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)
Visual Basic (Declaration)
Public Property Item ( _
    key As TKey _
) As TValue
Visual Basic (Usage)
Dim instance As Dictionary
Dim key As TKey
Dim value As TValue

value = instance.Item(key)

instance.Item(key) = value
C#
public TValue this[
    TKey key
] { get; set; }
Visual C++
public:
virtual property TValue Item[TKey key] {
    TValue get (TKey key) sealed;
    void set (TKey key, TValue value) sealed;
}
JScript
JScript does not support indexed properties.

Parameters

key
Type: TKey
The key of the value to get or set.

Property Value

Type: TValue
The value associated with the specified key. If the specified key is not found, a get operation throws a KeyNotFoundException, and a set operation creates a new element with the specified key.

Implements

IDictionary<(Of <(TKey, TValue>)>)..::.Item[([(TKey])])
ExceptionCondition
ArgumentNullException

key is nullNothingnullptra null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic).

KeyNotFoundException

The property is retrieved and key does not exist in the collection.

This property provides the ability to access a specific element in the collection by using the following C# syntax: myCollection[key] (myCollection(key) in Visual Basic).

You can also use the Item property to add new elements by setting the value of a key that does not exist in the Dictionary<(Of <(TKey, TValue>)>). When you set the property value, if the key is in the Dictionary<(Of <(TKey, TValue>)>), the value associated with that key is replaced by the assigned value. If the key is not in the Dictionary<(Of <(TKey, TValue>)>), the key and value are added to the dictionary. In contrast, the Add method does not modify existing elements.

A key cannot be nullNothingnullptra null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic), but a value can be, if the value type TValue is a reference type.

The C# language uses the this keyword to define the indexers instead of implementing the Item property. Visual Basic implements Item as a default property, which provides the same indexing functionality.

Getting or setting the value of this property approaches an O(1) operation.

The following code example uses the Item property (the indexer in C#) to retrieve values, demonstrating that a KeyNotFoundException is thrown when a requested key is not present, and showing that the value associated with a key can be replaced.

The example also shows how to use the TryGetValue method as a more efficient way to retrieve values if a program often must try key values that are not in the dictionary.

This code example is part of a larger example provided for the Dictionary<(Of <(TKey, TValue>)>) class.

Visual Basic
' The Item property is the default property, so you 
' can omit its name when accessing elements. 
Console.WriteLine("For key = ""rtf"", value = {0}.", _
    openWith("rtf"))

' The default Item property can be used to change the value
' associated with a key.
openWith("rtf") = "winword.exe"
Console.WriteLine("For key = ""rtf"", value = {0}.", _
    openWith("rtf"))

' If a key does not exist, setting the default Item property
' for that key adds a new key/value pair.
openWith("doc") = "winword.exe"


...


' The default Item property throws an exception if the requested
' key is not in the dictionary.
Try
    Console.WriteLine("For key = ""tif"", value = {0}.", _
        openWith("tif"))
Catch 
    Console.WriteLine("Key = ""tif"" is not found.")
End Try


...


' When a program often has to try keys that turn out not to
' be in the dictionary, TryGetValue can be a more efficient 
' way to retrieve values.
Dim value As String = ""
If openWith.TryGetValue("tif", value) Then
    Console.WriteLine("For key = ""tif"", value = {0}.", value)
Else
    Console.WriteLine("Key = ""tif"" is not found.")
End If

C#
// The Item property is another name for the indexer, so you 
// can omit its name when accessing elements. 
Console.WriteLine("For key = \"rtf\", value = {0}.", 
    openWith["rtf"]);

// The indexer can be used to change the value associated
// with a key.
openWith["rtf"] = "winword.exe";
Console.WriteLine("For key = \"rtf\", value = {0}.", 
    openWith["rtf"]);

// If a key does not exist, setting the indexer for that key
// adds a new key/value pair.
openWith["doc"] = "winword.exe";


...


// The indexer throws an exception if the requested key is
// not in the dictionary.
try
{
    Console.WriteLine("For key = \"tif\", value = {0}.", 
        openWith["tif"]);
}
catch (KeyNotFoundException)
{
    Console.WriteLine("Key = \"tif\" is not found.");
}


...


// When a program often has to try keys that turn out not to
// be in the dictionary, TryGetValue can be a more efficient 
// way to retrieve values.
string value = "";
if (openWith.TryGetValue("tif", out value))
{
    Console.WriteLine("For key = \"tif\", value = {0}.", value);
}
else
{
    Console.WriteLine("Key = \"tif\" is not found.");
}

Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98, Windows CE, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, Xbox 360, Zune

The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

.NET Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0

.NET Compact Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 2.0

XNA Framework

Supported in: 3.0, 2.0, 1.0
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