IDictionary.Item Property

This property provides the ability to access a specific element in the collection by using the following syntax: myCollection[key].

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 (for example, myCollection["myNonexistentKey"] = myValue). However, if the specified key already exists in the dictionary, setting the Item property overwrites the old value. In contrast, the Add method does not modify existing elements.

Implementations can vary in whether they allow the key to be null.

The C# language uses the thisthis (C# Reference) 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.

The following code example demonstrates how to implement the Item property. This code example is part of a larger example provided for the IDictionary class.

public object this[object key]
{
    get
    {   
        // If this key is in the dictionary, return its value.
        Int32 index;
        if (TryGetIndexOfKey(key, out index))
        {
            // The key was found; return its value. 
            return items[index].Value;
        } 
        else
        {
            // The key was not found; return null. 
            return null;
        }
    }

    set
    {
        // If this key is in the dictionary, change its value. 
        Int32 index;
        if (TryGetIndexOfKey(key, out index))
        {
            // The key was found; change its value.
            items[index].Value = value;
        } 
        else
        {
            // This key is not in the dictionary; add this key/value pair.
            Add(key, value);
        }
    }
}

.NET Framework

.NET Framework Client Profile

Portable Class Library

.NET for Windows Store apps

Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Windows 7, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 (Server Core Role not supported), Windows Server 2008 R2 (Server Core Role supported with SP1 or later; Itanium not supported)

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

Reference