ArrayList.Clear Method

Definition

Removes all elements from the ArrayList.

C#
public virtual void Clear();

Implements

Exceptions

The ArrayList is read-only.

-or-

The ArrayList has a fixed size.

Examples

The following code example shows how to trim the unused portions of the ArrayList and how to clear the values of the ArrayList.

C#
using System;
using System.Collections;
public class SamplesArrayList  {

   public static void Main()  {

      // Creates and initializes a new ArrayList.
      ArrayList myAL = new ArrayList();
      myAL.Add( "The" );
      myAL.Add( "quick" );
      myAL.Add( "brown" );
      myAL.Add( "fox" );
      myAL.Add( "jumps" );

      // Displays the count, capacity and values of the ArrayList.
      Console.WriteLine( "Initially," );
      Console.WriteLine( "   Count    : {0}", myAL.Count );
      Console.WriteLine( "   Capacity : {0}", myAL.Capacity );
      Console.Write( "   Values:" );
      PrintValues( myAL );

      // Trim the ArrayList.
      myAL.TrimToSize();

      // Displays the count, capacity and values of the ArrayList.
      Console.WriteLine( "After TrimToSize," );
      Console.WriteLine( "   Count    : {0}", myAL.Count );
      Console.WriteLine( "   Capacity : {0}", myAL.Capacity );
      Console.Write( "   Values:" );
      PrintValues( myAL );

      // Clear the ArrayList.
      myAL.Clear();

      // Displays the count, capacity and values of the ArrayList.
      Console.WriteLine( "After Clear," );
      Console.WriteLine( "   Count    : {0}", myAL.Count );
      Console.WriteLine( "   Capacity : {0}", myAL.Capacity );
      Console.Write( "   Values:" );
      PrintValues( myAL );

      // Trim the ArrayList again.
      myAL.TrimToSize();

      // Displays the count, capacity and values of the ArrayList.
      Console.WriteLine( "After the second TrimToSize," );
      Console.WriteLine( "   Count    : {0}", myAL.Count );
      Console.WriteLine( "   Capacity : {0}", myAL.Capacity );
      Console.Write( "   Values:" );
      PrintValues( myAL );
   }

   public static void PrintValues( IEnumerable myList )  {
      foreach ( Object obj in myList )
         Console.Write( "   {0}", obj );
      Console.WriteLine();
   }
}
/*
This code produces the following output.

Initially,
   Count    : 5
   Capacity : 16
   Values:    The    quick    brown    fox    jumps
After TrimToSize,
   Count    : 5
   Capacity : 5
   Values:    The    quick    brown    fox    jumps
After Clear,
   Count    : 0
   Capacity : 5
   Values:
After the second TrimToSize,
   Count    : 0
   Capacity : 16
   Values:
*/

Remarks

Count is set to zero, and references to other objects from elements of the collection are also released.

Capacity remains unchanged. To reset the capacity of the ArrayList, call TrimToSize or set the Capacity property directly. Trimming an empty ArrayList sets the capacity of the ArrayList to the default capacity.

This method is an O(n) operation, where n is Count.

Applies to

Product Versions
.NET Core 1.0, Core 1.1, Core 2.0, Core 2.1, Core 2.2, Core 3.0, Core 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
.NET Framework 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1
.NET Standard 2.0, 2.1
UWP 10.0

See also