ReadOnlyCollection(T) Class
.NET Framework Class Library
ReadOnlyCollection<(Of <(T>)>) Class

Provides the base class for a generic read-only collection.

Namespace:  System.Collections.ObjectModel
Assembly:  mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)
Visual Basic (Declaration)
<SerializableAttribute> _
<ComVisibleAttribute(False)> _
Public Class ReadOnlyCollection(Of T) _
    Implements IList(Of T), ICollection(Of T),  _
    IEnumerable(Of T), IList, ICollection, IEnumerable
Visual Basic (Usage)
Dim instance As ReadOnlyCollection(Of T)
C#
[SerializableAttribute]
[ComVisibleAttribute(false)]
public class ReadOnlyCollection<T> : IList<T>, 
    ICollection<T>, IEnumerable<T>, IList, ICollection, IEnumerable
Visual C++
[SerializableAttribute]
[ComVisibleAttribute(false)]
generic<typename T>
public ref class ReadOnlyCollection : 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.

An instance of the ReadOnlyCollection<(Of <(T>)>) generic class is always read-only. A collection that is read-only is simply a collection with a wrapper that prevents modifying the collection; therefore, if changes are made to the underlying collection, the read-only collection reflects those changes. See Collection<(Of <(T>)>) for a modifiable version of this class.

Notes to Implementers:

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

The following code example demonstrates several members of the ReadOnlyCollection<(Of <(T>)>) class. The code example creates a List<(Of <(T>)>) of strings and adds four dinosaur names to it. The code example then wraps the list in a ReadOnlyCollection<(Of <(T>)>).

After demonstrating the Count, Contains, Item, and IList..::.IndexOf members, the code example shows that the ReadOnlyCollection<(Of <(T>)>) is just a wrapper for the original List<(Of <(T>)>) by adding a new item to the List<(Of <(T>)>) and displaying the contents of the ReadOnlyCollection<(Of <(T>)>).

Finally, the code example creates an array larger than the collection and uses the CopyTo method to insert the elements of the collection into the middle of the array.

Visual Basic
Imports System
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.Collections.ObjectModel

Public Class Example

    Public Shared Sub Main()

        Dim dinosaurs As New List(Of String)

        dinosaurs.Add("Tyrannosaurus")
        dinosaurs.Add("Amargasaurus")
        dinosaurs.Add("Deinonychus")
        dinosaurs.Add("Compsognathus")

        Dim readOnlyDinosaurs As _
            New ReadOnlyCollection(Of String)(dinosaurs)

        Console.WriteLine()
        For Each dinosaur As String In readOnlyDinosaurs
            Console.WriteLine(dinosaur)
        Next

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "Count: {0}", _
            readOnlyDinosaurs.Count)

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "Contains(""Deinonychus""): {0}", _
            readOnlyDinosaurs.Contains("Deinonychus"))

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & _
            "readOnlyDinosaurs(3): {0}", readOnlyDinosaurs(3))

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "IndexOf(""Compsognathus""): {0}", _
            readOnlyDinosaurs.IndexOf("Compsognathus"))

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "Insert into the wrapped List:")
        Console.WriteLine("Insert(2, ""Oviraptor"")")
        dinosaurs.Insert(2, "Oviraptor")

        Console.WriteLine()
        For Each dinosaur As String In readOnlyDinosaurs
            Console.WriteLine(dinosaur)
        Next

        Dim dinoArray(readOnlyDinosaurs.Count + 1) As String
        readOnlyDinosaurs.CopyTo(dinoArray, 1)

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "Copied array has {0} elements:", _
            dinoArray.Length)
        For Each dinosaur As String In dinoArray
            Console.WriteLine("""{0}""", dinosaur)
        Next

   End Sub
End Class

' This code example produces the following output:
'
'Tyrannosaurus
'Amargasaurus
'Deinonychus
'Compsognathus
'
'Count: 4
'
'Contains("Deinonychus"): True
'
'readOnlyDinosaurs(3): Compsognathus
'
'IndexOf("Compsognathus"): 3
'
'Insert into the wrapped List:
'Insert(2, "Oviraptor")
'
'Tyrannosaurus
'Amargasaurus
'Oviraptor
'Deinonychus
'Compsognathus
'
'Copied array has 7 elements:
'""
'"Tyrannosaurus"
'"Amargasaurus"
'"Oviraptor"
'"Deinonychus"
'"Compsognathus"
'""
C#
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;

public class Example
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        List<string> dinosaurs = new List<string>();

        dinosaurs.Add("Tyrannosaurus");
        dinosaurs.Add("Amargasaurus");
        dinosaurs.Add("Deinonychus");
        dinosaurs.Add("Compsognathus");

        ReadOnlyCollection<string> readOnlyDinosaurs = 
            new ReadOnlyCollection<string>(dinosaurs);

        Console.WriteLine();
        foreach( string dinosaur in readOnlyDinosaurs )
        {
            Console.WriteLine(dinosaur);
        }

        Console.WriteLine("\nCount: {0}", readOnlyDinosaurs.Count);

        Console.WriteLine("\nContains(\"Deinonychus\"): {0}", 
            readOnlyDinosaurs.Contains("Deinonychus"));

        Console.WriteLine("\nreadOnlyDinosaurs[3]: {0}", 
            readOnlyDinosaurs[3]);

        Console.WriteLine("\nIndexOf(\"Compsognathus\"): {0}", 
            readOnlyDinosaurs.IndexOf("Compsognathus"));

        Console.WriteLine("\nInsert into the wrapped List:");
        Console.WriteLine("Insert(2, \"Oviraptor\")");
        dinosaurs.Insert(2, "Oviraptor");

        Console.WriteLine();
        foreach( string dinosaur in readOnlyDinosaurs )
        {
            Console.WriteLine(dinosaur);
        }

        string[] dinoArray = new string[readOnlyDinosaurs.Count + 2];
        readOnlyDinosaurs.CopyTo(dinoArray, 1);

        Console.WriteLine("\nCopied array has {0} elements:", 
            dinoArray.Length);
        foreach( string dinosaur in dinoArray )
        {
            Console.WriteLine("\"{0}\"", dinosaur);
        }
    }
}

/* This code example produces the following output:

Tyrannosaurus
Amargasaurus
Deinonychus
Compsognathus

Count: 4

Contains("Deinonychus"): True

readOnlyDinosaurs[3]: Compsognathus

IndexOf("Compsognathus"): 3

Insert into the wrapped List:
Insert(2, "Oviraptor")

Tyrannosaurus
Amargasaurus
Oviraptor
Deinonychus
Compsognathus

Copied array has 7 elements:
""
"Tyrannosaurus"
"Amargasaurus"
"Oviraptor"
"Deinonychus"
"Compsognathus"
""
 */
Visual C++
using namespace System;
using namespace System::Collections::Generic;
using namespace System::Collections::ObjectModel;

void main()
{
    List<String^>^ dinosaurs = gcnew List<String^>();

    dinosaurs->Add("Tyrannosaurus");
    dinosaurs->Add("Amargasaurus");
    dinosaurs->Add("Deinonychus");
    dinosaurs->Add("Compsognathus");

    ReadOnlyCollection<String^>^ readOnlyDinosaurs = 
        gcnew ReadOnlyCollection<String^>(dinosaurs);

    Console::WriteLine();
    for each(String^ dinosaur in readOnlyDinosaurs )
    {
        Console::WriteLine(dinosaur);
    }

    Console::WriteLine("\nCount: {0}", readOnlyDinosaurs->Count);

    Console::WriteLine("\nContains(\"Deinonychus\"): {0}", 
        readOnlyDinosaurs->Contains("Deinonychus"));

    Console::WriteLine("\nreadOnlyDinosaurs[3]: {0}", 
        readOnlyDinosaurs[3]);

    Console::WriteLine("\nIndexOf(\"Compsognathus\"): {0}", 
        readOnlyDinosaurs->IndexOf("Compsognathus"));

    Console::WriteLine("\nInsert into the wrapped List:");
    Console::WriteLine("Insert(2, \"Oviraptor\")");
    dinosaurs->Insert(2, "Oviraptor");

    Console::WriteLine();
    for each( String^ dinosaur in readOnlyDinosaurs )
    {
        Console::WriteLine(dinosaur);
    }

    array<String^>^ dinoArray = 
        gcnew array<String^>(readOnlyDinosaurs->Count + 2);
    readOnlyDinosaurs->CopyTo(dinoArray, 1);

    Console::WriteLine("\nCopied array has {0} elements:", 
        dinoArray->Length);
    for each( String^ dinosaur in dinoArray )
    {
        Console::WriteLine("\"{0}\"", dinosaur);
    }
}

/* This code example produces the following output:

Tyrannosaurus
Amargasaurus
Deinonychus
Compsognathus

Count: 4

Contains("Deinonychus"): True

readOnlyDinosaurs[3]: Compsognathus

IndexOf("Compsognathus"): 3

Insert into the wrapped List:
Insert(2, "Oviraptor")

Tyrannosaurus
Amargasaurus
Oviraptor
Deinonychus
Compsognathus

Copied array has 7 elements:
""
"Tyrannosaurus"
"Amargasaurus"
"Oviraptor"
"Deinonychus"
"Compsognathus"
""
 */

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

A ReadOnlyCollection<(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.

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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