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List<T> Constructor (Int32)

.NET Framework (current version)
 

Initializes a new instance of the List<T> class that is empty and has the specified initial capacity.

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

C#
C++
F#
VB
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public:
List(
	int capacity
)

Parameters

capacity
Type: System::Int32

The number of elements that the new list can initially store.

Exception Condition
ArgumentOutOfRangeException

capacity is less than 0.

The capacity of a List<T> is the number of elements that the List<T> can hold. As elements are added to a List<T>, the capacity is automatically increased as required by reallocating the internal array.

If the size of the collection can be estimated, specifying the initial capacity eliminates the need to perform a number of resizing operations while adding elements to the List<T>.

The capacity can be decreased by calling the TrimExcess method or by setting the Capacity property explicitly. Decreasing the capacity reallocates memory and copies all the elements in the List<T>.

This constructor is an O(n) operation, where n is capacity.

The following example demonstrates the List<T>(Int32) constructor. A List<T> of strings with a capacity of 4 is created, because the ultimate size of the list is known to be exactly 4. The list is populated with four strings, and a read-only copy is created by using the AsReadOnly method.

C#
C++
VB
Copy 
using namespace System;
using namespace System::Collections::Generic;

void main()
{
    List<String^>^ dinosaurs = gcnew List<String^>(4);

    Console::WriteLine("\nCapacity: {0}", dinosaurs->Capacity);

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

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

    Console::WriteLine("\nIList<String^>^ roDinosaurs = dinosaurs->AsReadOnly()");
    IList<String^>^ roDinosaurs = dinosaurs->AsReadOnly();

    Console::WriteLine("\nElements in the read-only IList:");
    for each(String^ dinosaur in roDinosaurs)
    {
        Console::WriteLine(dinosaur);
    }

    Console::WriteLine("\ndinosaurs[2] = \"Coelophysis\"");
    dinosaurs[2] = "Coelophysis";

    Console::WriteLine("\nElements in the read-only IList:");
    for each(String^ dinosaur in roDinosaurs)
    {
        Console::WriteLine(dinosaur);
    }
}

/* This code example produces the following output:

Capacity: 4

Tyrannosaurus
Amargasaurus
Mamenchisaurus
Deinonychus

IList<String^>^ roDinosaurs = dinosaurs->AsReadOnly()

Elements in the read-only IList:
Tyrannosaurus
Amargasaurus
Mamenchisaurus
Deinonychus

dinosaurs[2] = "Coelophysis"

Elements in the read-only IList:
Tyrannosaurus
Amargasaurus
Coelophysis
Deinonychus
 */

Universal Windows Platform
Available since 8
.NET Framework
Available since 2.0
Portable Class Library
Supported in: portable .NET platforms
Silverlight
Available since 2.0
Windows Phone Silverlight
Available since 7.0
Windows Phone
Available since 8.1
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