Collection(T) Class (System.Collections.ObjectModel)

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Microsoft Visual Studio 2008/.NET Framework 3.5

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.NET Framework Class Library

Collection<(Of <(T>)>) Class

Provides the base class for a generic collection.

Namespace: System.Collections.ObjectModel
Assembly: mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)

Syntax

Visual Basic (Declaration)

<SerializableAttribute> _
<ComVisibleAttribute(False)> _
Public Class Collection(Of T) _
    Implements IList(Of T), ICollection(Of T),  _
    IEnumerable(Of T), IList, ICollection, IEnumerable

Visual Basic (Usage)

Dim instance As Collection(Of T)

[SerializableAttribute]
[ComVisibleAttribute(false)]
public class Collection<T> : IList<T>, 
    ICollection<T>, IEnumerable<T>, IList, ICollection, IEnumerable

Visual C++

[SerializableAttribute]
[ComVisibleAttribute(false)]
generic<typename T>
public ref class Collection : IList<T>, 
    ICollection<T>, IEnumerable<T>, IList, ICollection, IEnumerable

JScript

JScript does not support generic types or methods.

Type Parameters

T: The type of elements in the collection.

Remarks

The Collection<(Of <(T>)>) class can be used immediately by creating an instance of one of its constructed types; all you have to do is specify the type of object to be contained in the collection. In addition, you can derive your own collection type from any constructed type, or derive a generic collection type from the Collection<(Of <(T>)>) class itself.

The Collection<(Of <(T>)>) class provides protected methods that can be used to customize its behavior when adding and removing items, clearing the collection, or setting the value of an existing item.

Most Collection<(Of <(T>)>) objects can be modified. However, a Collection<(Of <(T>)>) object that is initialized with a read-only IList<(Of <(T>)>) object cannot be modified. See ReadOnlyCollection<(Of <(T>)>) for a read-only version of this class.

Elements in this collection can be accessed using an integer index. Indexes in this collection are zero-based.

Collection<(Of <(T>)>) accepts nullNothingnullptra null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic) as a valid value for reference types and allows duplicate elements.

Notes to Implementers:

This base class is provided to make it easier for implementers to create a custom collection. Implementers are encouraged to extend this base class instead of creating their own.

Examples

This section contains two code examples. The first example demonstrates several properties and methods of the Collection<(Of <(T>)>) class. The second example shows how to derive a collection class from a constructed type of Collection<(Of <(T>)>), and how to override the protected methods of Collection<(Of <(T>)>) to provide custom behavior.

Example 1

The following code example demonstrates many of the properties and methods of Collection<(Of <(T>)>). The code example creates a collection of strings, uses the Add method to add several strings, displays the Count, and lists the strings. The example uses the IndexOf method to find the index of a string and the Contains method to determine whether a string is in the collection. The example inserts a string using the Insert method and retrieves and sets strings using the default Item property (the indexer in C#). The example removes strings by string identity using the Remove method and by index using the RemoveAt method. Finally, the Clear method is used to clear all strings from the collection.

Visual Basic

Imports System
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.Collections.ObjectModel

Public Class Demo

    Public Shared Sub Main() 

        Dim dinosaurs As New Collection(Of String)

        dinosaurs.Add("Psitticosaurus")
        dinosaurs.Add("Caudipteryx")
        dinosaurs.Add("Compsognathus")
        dinosaurs.Add("Muttaburrasaurus")

        Console.WriteLine("{0} dinosaurs:", dinosaurs.Count)
        Display(dinosaurs)

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "IndexOf(""Muttaburrasaurus""): {0}", _
            dinosaurs.IndexOf("Muttaburrasaurus"))

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "Contains(""Caudipteryx""): {0}", _
            dinosaurs.Contains("Caudipteryx"))

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "Insert(2, ""Nanotyrannus"")")
        dinosaurs.Insert(2, "Nanotyrannus")
        Display(dinosaurs)

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "dinosaurs(2): {0}", dinosaurs(2))

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "dinosaurs(2) = ""Microraptor""")
        dinosaurs(2) = "Microraptor"
        Display(dinosaurs)

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "Remove(""Microraptor"")")
        dinosaurs.Remove("Microraptor")
        Display(dinosaurs)

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "RemoveAt(0)")
        dinosaurs.RemoveAt(0)
        Display(dinosaurs)

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "dinosaurs.Clear()")
        dinosaurs.Clear()
        Console.WriteLine("Count: {0}", dinosaurs.Count)

    End Sub

    Private Shared Sub Display(ByVal cs As Collection(Of String)) 
        Console.WriteLine()
        For Each item As String In cs
            Console.WriteLine(item)
        Next item
    End Sub
End Class

' This code example produces the following output:
'
'4 dinosaurs:
'
'Psitticosaurus
'Caudipteryx
'Compsognathus
'Muttaburrasaurus
'
'IndexOf("Muttaburrasaurus"): 3
'
'Contains("Caudipteryx"): True
'
'Insert(2, "Nanotyrannus")
'
'Psitticosaurus
'Caudipteryx
'Nanotyrannus
'Compsognathus
'Muttaburrasaurus
'
'dinosaurs(2): Nanotyrannus
'
'dinosaurs(2) = "Microraptor"
'
'Psitticosaurus
'Caudipteryx
'Microraptor
'Compsognathus
'Muttaburrasaurus
'
'Remove("Microraptor")
'
'Psitticosaurus
'Caudipteryx
'Compsognathus
'Muttaburrasaurus
'
'RemoveAt(0)
'
'Caudipteryx
'Compsognathus
'Muttaburrasaurus
'
'dinosaurs.Clear()
'Count: 0

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;

public class Demo
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        Collection<string> dinosaurs = new Collection<string>();

        dinosaurs.Add("Psitticosaurus");
        dinosaurs.Add("Caudipteryx");
        dinosaurs.Add("Compsognathus");
        dinosaurs.Add("Muttaburrasaurus");

        Console.WriteLine("{0} dinosaurs:", dinosaurs.Count);
        Display(dinosaurs);

        Console.WriteLine("\nIndexOf(\"Muttaburrasaurus\"): {0}", 
            dinosaurs.IndexOf("Muttaburrasaurus"));

        Console.WriteLine("\nContains(\"Caudipteryx\"): {0}", 
            dinosaurs.Contains("Caudipteryx"));

        Console.WriteLine("\nInsert(2, \"Nanotyrannus\")");
        dinosaurs.Insert(2, "Nanotyrannus");
        Display(dinosaurs);

        Console.WriteLine("\ndinosaurs[2]: {0}", dinosaurs[2]);

        Console.WriteLine("\ndinosaurs[2] = \"Microraptor\"");
        dinosaurs[2] = "Microraptor";
        Display(dinosaurs);

        Console.WriteLine("\nRemove(\"Microraptor\")");
        dinosaurs.Remove("Microraptor");
        Display(dinosaurs);

        Console.WriteLine("\nRemoveAt(0)");
        dinosaurs.RemoveAt(0);
        Display(dinosaurs);

        Console.WriteLine("\ndinosaurs.Clear()");
        dinosaurs.Clear();
        Console.WriteLine("Count: {0}", dinosaurs.Count);
    }

    private static void Display(Collection<string> cs)
    {
        Console.WriteLine();
        foreach( string item in cs )
        {
            Console.WriteLine(item);
        }
    }
}

/* This code example produces the following output:

4 dinosaurs:

Psitticosaurus
Caudipteryx
Compsognathus
Muttaburrasaurus

IndexOf("Muttaburrasaurus"): 3

Contains("Caudipteryx"): True

Insert(2, "Nanotyrannus")

Psitticosaurus
Caudipteryx
Nanotyrannus
Compsognathus
Muttaburrasaurus

dinosaurs[2]: Nanotyrannus

dinosaurs[2] = "Microraptor"

Psitticosaurus
Caudipteryx
Microraptor
Compsognathus
Muttaburrasaurus

Remove("Microraptor")

Psitticosaurus
Caudipteryx
Compsognathus
Muttaburrasaurus

RemoveAt(0)

Caudipteryx
Compsognathus
Muttaburrasaurus

dinosaurs.Clear()
Count: 0
 */

Example 2

The following code example shows how to derive a collection class from a constructed type of the Collection<(Of <(T>)>) generic class, and how to override the protected InsertItem, RemoveItem, ClearItems, and SetItem methods to provide custom behavior for the Add, Insert, Remove, and Clear methods, and for setting the Item property.

The custom behavior provided by this example is a Changed notification event that is raised at the end of each of the protected methods. The Dinosaurs class inherits Collection<string> (Collection(Of String) in Visual Basic) and defines the Changed event, which uses a DinosaursChangedEventArgs class for the event information, and an enumeration to identify the kind of change.

The code example calls several properties and methods of Collection<(Of <(T>)>) to demonstrate the custom event.

Visual Basic

Imports System
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.Collections.ObjectModel

Public Class Dinosaurs
    Inherits Collection(Of String)

    Public Event Changed As EventHandler(Of DinosaursChangedEventArgs)

    Protected Overrides Sub InsertItem( _
        ByVal index As Integer, ByVal newItem As String)

        MyBase.InsertItem(index, newItem)

        RaiseEvent Changed(Me, New DinosaursChangedEventArgs( _
            ChangeType.Added, newItem, Nothing))
    End Sub

    Protected Overrides Sub SetItem(ByVal index As Integer, _
        ByVal newItem As String)

        Dim replaced As String = Items(index)
        MyBase.SetItem(index, newItem)

        RaiseEvent Changed(Me, New DinosaursChangedEventArgs( _
            ChangeType.Replaced, replaced, newItem))
    End Sub

    Protected Overrides Sub RemoveItem(ByVal index As Integer)

        Dim removedItem As String = Items(index)
        MyBase.RemoveItem(index)

        RaiseEvent Changed(Me, New DinosaursChangedEventArgs( _
            ChangeType.Removed, removedItem, Nothing))
    End Sub

    Protected Overrides Sub ClearItems()
        MyBase.ClearItems()

        RaiseEvent Changed(Me, New DinosaursChangedEventArgs( _
            ChangeType.Cleared, Nothing, Nothing))
    End Sub

End Class

' Event argument for the Changed event.
'
Public Class DinosaursChangedEventArgs
    Inherits EventArgs

    Public ReadOnly ChangedItem As String
    Public ReadOnly ChangeType As ChangeType
    Public ReadOnly ReplacedWith As String

    Public Sub New(ByVal change As ChangeType, ByVal item As String, _
        ByVal replacement As String)

        ChangeType = change
        ChangedItem = item
        ReplacedWith = replacement
    End Sub
End Class

Public Enum ChangeType
    Added
    Removed
    Replaced
    Cleared
End Enum

Public Class Demo

    Public Shared Sub Main() 

        Dim dinosaurs As New Dinosaurs

        AddHandler dinosaurs.Changed, AddressOf ChangedHandler

        dinosaurs.Add("Psitticosaurus")
        dinosaurs.Add("Caudipteryx")
        dinosaurs.Add("Compsognathus")
        dinosaurs.Add("Muttaburrasaurus")

        Display(dinosaurs)

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "IndexOf(""Muttaburrasaurus""): {0}", _
            dinosaurs.IndexOf("Muttaburrasaurus"))

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "Contains(""Caudipteryx""): {0}", _
            dinosaurs.Contains("Caudipteryx"))

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "Insert(2, ""Nanotyrannus"")")
        dinosaurs.Insert(2, "Nanotyrannus")

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "dinosaurs(2): {0}", dinosaurs(2))

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "dinosaurs(2) = ""Microraptor""")
        dinosaurs(2) = "Microraptor"

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "Remove(""Microraptor"")")
        dinosaurs.Remove("Microraptor")

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "RemoveAt(0)")
        dinosaurs.RemoveAt(0)

        Display(dinosaurs)

    End Sub

    Private Shared Sub Display(ByVal cs As Collection(Of String)) 
        Console.WriteLine()
        For Each item As String In cs
            Console.WriteLine(item)
        Next item
    End Sub

    Private Shared Sub ChangedHandler(ByVal source As Object, _
        ByVal e As DinosaursChangedEventArgs)

        If e.ChangeType = ChangeType.Replaced Then
            Console.WriteLine("{0} was replaced with {1}", _
                e.ChangedItem, e.ReplacedWith)

        ElseIf e.ChangeType = ChangeType.Cleared Then
            Console.WriteLine("The dinosaur list was cleared.")

        Else
            Console.WriteLine("{0} was {1}.", _
                e.ChangedItem, e.ChangeType)
        End If
    End Sub

End Class

' This code example produces the following output:
'
'Psitticosaurus was Added.
'Caudipteryx was Added.
'Compsognathus was Added.
'Muttaburrasaurus was Added.
'
'Psitticosaurus
'Caudipteryx
'Compsognathus
'Muttaburrasaurus
'
'IndexOf("Muttaburrasaurus"): 3
'
'Contains("Caudipteryx"): True
'
'Insert(2, "Nanotyrannus")
'Nanotyrannus was Added.
'
'dinosaurs(2): Nanotyrannus
'
'dinosaurs(2) = "Microraptor"
'Nanotyrannus was replaced with Microraptor
'
'Remove("Microraptor")
'Microraptor was Removed.
'
'RemoveAt(0)
'Psitticosaurus was Removed.
'
'Caudipteryx
'Compsognathus
'Muttaburrasaurus

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;

public class Dinosaurs : Collection<string>
{
    public event EventHandler<DinosaursChangedEventArgs> Changed;

    protected override void InsertItem(int index, string newItem)
    {
        base.InsertItem(index, newItem);

        EventHandler<DinosaursChangedEventArgs> temp = Changed;
        if (temp != null)
        {
            temp(this, new DinosaursChangedEventArgs(
                ChangeType.Added, newItem, null));
        }
    }

    protected override void SetItem(int index, string newItem)
    {
        string replaced = Items[index];
        base.SetItem(index, newItem);

        EventHandler<DinosaursChangedEventArgs> temp = Changed;
        if (temp != null)
        {
            temp(this, new DinosaursChangedEventArgs(
                ChangeType.Replaced, replaced, newItem));
        }
    }

    protected override void RemoveItem(int index)
    {
        string removedItem = Items[index];
        base.RemoveItem(index);

        EventHandler<DinosaursChangedEventArgs> temp = Changed;
        if (temp != null)
        {
            temp(this, new DinosaursChangedEventArgs(
                ChangeType.Removed, removedItem, null));
        }
    }

    protected override void ClearItems()
    {
        base.ClearItems();

        EventHandler<DinosaursChangedEventArgs> temp = Changed;
        if (temp != null)
        {
            temp(this, new DinosaursChangedEventArgs(
                ChangeType.Cleared, null, null));
        }
    }
}

// Event argument for the Changed event.
//
public class DinosaursChangedEventArgs : EventArgs
{
    public readonly string ChangedItem;
    public readonly ChangeType ChangeType;
    public readonly string ReplacedWith;

    public DinosaursChangedEventArgs(ChangeType change, string item, 
        string replacement)
    {
        ChangeType = change;
        ChangedItem = item;
        ReplacedWith = replacement;
    }
}

public enum ChangeType
{
    Added, 
    Removed, 
    Replaced, 
    Cleared
};

public class Demo
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        Dinosaurs dinosaurs = new Dinosaurs();

        dinosaurs.Changed += ChangedHandler; 

        dinosaurs.Add("Psitticosaurus");
        dinosaurs.Add("Caudipteryx");
        dinosaurs.Add("Compsognathus");
        dinosaurs.Add("Muttaburrasaurus");

        Display(dinosaurs);

        Console.WriteLine("\nIndexOf(\"Muttaburrasaurus\"): {0}", 
            dinosaurs.IndexOf("Muttaburrasaurus"));

        Console.WriteLine("\nContains(\"Caudipteryx\"): {0}", 
            dinosaurs.Contains("Caudipteryx"));

        Console.WriteLine("\nInsert(2, \"Nanotyrannus\")");
        dinosaurs.Insert(2, "Nanotyrannus");

        Console.WriteLine("\ndinosaurs[2]: {0}", dinosaurs[2]);

        Console.WriteLine("\ndinosaurs[2] = \"Microraptor\"");
        dinosaurs[2] = "Microraptor";

        Console.WriteLine("\nRemove(\"Microraptor\")");
        dinosaurs.Remove("Microraptor");

        Console.WriteLine("\nRemoveAt(0)");
        dinosaurs.RemoveAt(0);

        Display(dinosaurs);
    }

    private static void Display(Collection<string> cs)
    {
        Console.WriteLine();
        foreach( string item in cs )
        {
            Console.WriteLine(item);
        }
    }

    private static void ChangedHandler(object source, 
        DinosaursChangedEventArgs e)
    {

        if (e.ChangeType==ChangeType.Replaced)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("{0} was replaced with {1}", e.ChangedItem, 
                e.ReplacedWith);
        }
        else if(e.ChangeType==ChangeType.Cleared)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("The dinosaur list was cleared.");
        }
        else
        {
            Console.WriteLine("{0} was {1}.", e.ChangedItem, e.ChangeType);
        }
    }
}

/* This code example produces the following output:

Psitticosaurus was Added.
Caudipteryx was Added.
Compsognathus was Added.
Muttaburrasaurus was Added.

Psitticosaurus
Caudipteryx
Compsognathus
Muttaburrasaurus

IndexOf("Muttaburrasaurus"): 3

Contains("Caudipteryx"): True

Insert(2, "Nanotyrannus")
Nanotyrannus was Added.

dinosaurs[2]: Nanotyrannus

dinosaurs[2] = "Microraptor"
Nanotyrannus was replaced with Microraptor

Remove("Microraptor")
Microraptor was Removed.

RemoveAt(0)
Psitticosaurus was Removed.

Caudipteryx
Compsognathus
Muttaburrasaurus
 */

Inheritance Hierarchy

Thread Safety

Public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.

A Collection<(Of <(T>)>) can support multiple readers concurrently, as long as the collection is not modified. Even so, enumerating through a collection is intrinsically not a thread-safe procedure. To guarantee thread safety during enumeration, you can lock the collection during the entire enumeration. To allow the collection to be accessed by multiple threads for reading and writing, you must implement your own synchronization.

Platforms

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.

Version Information

.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

Reference

Collection<(Of <(T>)>) Members

System.Collections.ObjectModel Namespace

ICollection<(Of <(T>)>)

Other Resources

Performing Culture-Insensitive String Operations in Collections

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Annotations

"Not intrisically thread safe" for read?

mike_nunan | Edit | Show History

In the section above on Thread Safety, on the one hand it says that multiple simultaneous readers are safe as long as the collection is not modified, but then goes on to say that even for read the collection is "not intrinsically thread safe". What does this mean? If I don't use locking among multiple readers, is there a circumstance where problems can arise even if the collection is never modified? I hope not, and it plainly says not in the "Collections and Synchronisation" documentation here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/573ths2x.aspx but it would still be nice to know what the true meaning of that statement is. I suspect it's just meant to emphasise the need for locking on write, but if so it should be clarified as it creates some uncertainty at present.

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: collection (x) contentbug (x) locking (x) thread (x) Add a tag

This is as it always was (unless you use a Synchronized wrapper and even then for enumeration....)

pushbomb internet.tv platform | Edit | Show History

Basically if the set if immutable (always read only) of course your OK.

For a shared (say static) set access by more then one at a time, you must deal with thread-safety.

But it's not hard.

Design to minimize the need for this, but if you must, control the access points. Don't expose the collection, wrap it in a singleton which provides 'results' from say Linq queries which themsves are immutable.

But then you might need auto-syncronization for 'dirty results' you gave to someone. A harder but not impossible issue. There are just so many nightmares here that it makes sense not to do it on this amazingly central and 'generic' base Collection<T>. Want a special threadsafe one? Inherit from Collection<T> and it is much easier.

For more email me or go to: http://blog.domaindotnet.com

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: collections (x) operations (x) set (x) synchronized (x) syncronization (x) threading (x) Add a tag

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Collection usage and API guidelines

David M. Kean - MSFT | Edit | Show History

For usage and API guidelines in addition to those already found in the Framework Design Guidelines, see:

http://davesbox.com/archive/2008/12/13/array-collection-ienumerable-lt-t-gt-usage-guidelines.aspx

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