IDictionaryEnumerator Interface
Assembly: mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)
'Declaration <ComVisibleAttribute(True)> _ Public Interface IDictionaryEnumerator Inherits IEnumerator 'Usage Dim instance As IDictionaryEnumerator
/** @attribute ComVisibleAttribute(true) */ public interface IDictionaryEnumerator extends IEnumerator
ComVisibleAttribute(true) public interface IDictionaryEnumerator extends IEnumerator
Not applicable.
The foreach statement of the C# language (for each in Visual Basic) hides the complexity of the enumerators. Therefore, using foreach is recommended instead of directly manipulating the enumerator.
Enumerators can be used to read the data in the collection, but they cannot be used to modify the underlying collection.
Initially, the enumerator is positioned before the first element in the collection. The Reset method also brings the enumerator back to this position. At this position, calling the Current property throws an exception. Therefore, you must call the MoveNext method to advance the enumerator to the first element of the collection before reading the value of Current.
Current returns the same object until either MoveNext or Reset is called. MoveNext sets Current to the next element.
If MoveNext passes the end of the collection, the enumerator is positioned after the last element in the collection and MoveNext returns false. When the enumerator is at this position, subsequent calls to MoveNext also return false. If the last call to MoveNext returned false, calling Current throws an exception. To set Current to the first element of the collection again, you can call Reset followed by MoveNext.
An enumerator remains valid as long as the collection remains unchanged. If changes are made to the collection, such as adding, modifying, or deleting elements, the enumerator is irrecoverably invalidated and the next call to MoveNext or Reset throws an InvalidOperationException. If the collection is modified between MoveNext and Current, Current returns the element that it is set to, even if the enumerator is already invalidated.
The enumerator does not have exclusive access to the collection; therefore, enumerating through a collection is intrinsically not a thread-safe procedure. Even when a collection is synchronized, other threads can still modify the collection, which causes the enumerator to throw an exception. To guarantee thread safety during enumeration, you can either lock the collection during the entire enumeration or catch the exceptions resulting from changes made by other threads.
Notes to Implementers: The Current property that is inherited from IEnumerator returns an Object that is a boxed DictionaryEntry, similar to the return value of the Entry property.This code example shows how to define a dictionary enumerator that implements the IDictionaryEnumerator interface.
Private Class SimpleDictionaryEnumerator
Implements IDictionaryEnumerator
' A copy of the SimpleDictionary object's key/value pairs.
Dim items() As DictionaryEntry
Dim index As Integer = -1
Public Sub New(ByVal sd As SimpleDictionary)
' Make a copy of the dictionary entries currently in the SimpleDictionary object.
items = New DictionaryEntry(sd.Count - 1) {}
Array.Copy(sd.items, 0, items, 0, sd.Count)
End Sub
' Return the current item.
Public ReadOnly Property Current() As Object Implements IDictionaryEnumerator.Current
Get
ValidateIndex()
Return items(index)
End Get
End Property
' Return the current dictionary entry.
Public ReadOnly Property Entry() As DictionaryEntry Implements IDictionaryEnumerator.Entry
Get
Return Current
End Get
End Property
' Return the key of the current item.
Public ReadOnly Property Key() As Object Implements IDictionaryEnumerator.Key
Get
ValidateIndex()
Return items(index).Key
End Get
End Property
' Return the value of the current item.
Public ReadOnly Property Value() As Object Implements IDictionaryEnumerator.Value
Get
ValidateIndex()
Return items(index).Value
End Get
End Property
' Advance to the next item.
Public Function MoveNext() As Boolean Implements IDictionaryEnumerator.MoveNext
If index < items.Length - 1 Then
index = index + 1
Return True
End If
Return False
End Function
' Validate the enumeration index and throw an exception if the index is out of range.
Private Sub ValidateIndex()
If index < 0 Or index >= items.Length Then
Throw New InvalidOperationException("Enumerator is before or after the collection.")
End If
End Sub
' Reset the index to restart the enumeration.
Public Sub Reset() Implements IDictionaryEnumerator.Reset
index = -1
End Sub
End Class
Public Function GetEnumerator() As IDictionaryEnumerator Implements IDictionary.GetEnumerator
'Construct and return an enumerator.
Return New SimpleDictionaryEnumerator(Me)
End Function
' ICollection Members
Public ReadOnly Property IsSynchronized() As Boolean Implements IDictionary.IsSynchronized
Get
Return False
End Get
End Property
Public ReadOnly Property SyncRoot() As Object Implements IDictionary.SyncRoot
Get
Throw New NotImplementedException()
End Get
End Property
Public ReadOnly Property Count() As Integer Implements IDictionary.Count
Get
Return ItemsInUse
End Get
End Property
Public Sub CopyTo(ByVal array As Array, ByVal index As Integer) Implements IDictionary.CopyTo
Throw New NotImplementedException()
End Sub
' IEnumerable Members
Public Function GetEnumerator1() As IEnumerator Implements IEnumerable.GetEnumerator
' Construct and return an enumerator.
Return Me.GetEnumerator()
End Function
End Class
Windows 98, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows CE, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Starter Edition
The Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 is supported on Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows XP SP2, and Windows Server 2003 SP1.