IDictionary.Item Property (System.Collections)

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Item Property

.NET Framework Class Library

IDictionary..::.Item Property

Gets or sets the element with the specified key.

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

Syntax

Visual Basic (Declaration)

Property Item ( _
    key As Object _
) As Object

Visual Basic (Usage)

Dim instance As IDictionary
Dim key As Object
Dim value As Object

value = instance.Item(key)

instance.Item(key) = value

Object this[
    Object key
] { get; set; }

Visual C++

property Object^ Item[Object^ key] {
    Object^ get (Object^ key);
    void set (Object^ key, Object^ value);
}

JScript

JScript does not support indexed properties.

Parameters

key: Type: System..::.Object
The key of the element to get or set.

Property Value

Type: System..::.Object
The element with the specified key.

Exceptions

Exception	Condition
ArgumentNullException	key is nullNothingnullptra null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic).
NotSupportedException	The property is set and the IDictionary object is read-only. -or- The property is set, key does not exist in the collection, and the IDictionary has a fixed size.

Exception

Condition

ArgumentNullException

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

NotSupportedException

The property is set and the IDictionary object is read-only.

-or-

The property is set, key does not exist in the collection, and the IDictionary has a fixed size.

Remarks

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 nullNothingnullptra null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic).

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.

Examples

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.

Visual Basic

Public Property Item(ByVal key As Object) As Object Implements IDictionary.Item
    Get

        ' If this key is in the dictionary, return its value.
        Dim index As Integer
        If TryGetIndexOfKey(key, index) Then

            ' The key was found return its value.
            Return items(index).Value
        Else

            ' The key was not found return null.
            Return Nothing
        End If
    End Get

    Set(ByVal value As Object)
        ' If this key is in the dictionary, change its value. 
        Dim index As Integer
        If TryGetIndexOfKey(key, index) Then

            ' 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)
        End If
    End Set
End Property

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);
        }
    }
}

Visual C++

public:
    virtual property Object^ default[Object^]
    {
        Object^ get(Object^ key)
        {
            // If this key is in the dictionary, return its value.
            int index;
            if (TryGetIndexOfKey(key, &index))
            {
                // The key was found; return its value.
                return items[index]->Value;
            }
            else
            {
                // The key was not found; return null.
                return nullptr;
            }
        }

        void set(Object^ key, Object^ value)
        {
            // If this key is in the dictionary, change its value.
            int index;
            if (TryGetIndexOfKey(key, &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);
            }
        }
    }

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, 1.1, 1.0

.NET Compact Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 2.0, 1.0

XNA Framework

Supported in: 3.0, 2.0, 1.0

Reference

IDictionary Interface

IDictionary Members

System.Collections Namespace

Add