Collection<T>.Item[Int32] Property

Definition

Gets or sets the element at the specified index.

C#
public T this[int index] { get; set; }

Parameters

index
Int32

The zero-based index of the element to get or set.

Property Value

T

The element at the specified index.

Implements

Exceptions

index is less than zero.

-or-

index is equal to or greater than Count.

Examples

The following code example demonstrates many of the properties and methods of Collection<T>. The code example creates a collection of strings, uses the Add method to add several strings, displays the Count, and lists the strings. The example uses the IndexOf method to find the index of a string and the Contains method to determine whether a string is in the collection. The example inserts a string using the Insert method and retrieves and sets strings using the default Item[] property (the indexer in C#). The example removes strings by string identity using the Remove method and by index using the RemoveAt method. Finally, the Clear method is used to clear all strings from the collection.

C#
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;

public class Demo
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        Collection<string> dinosaurs = new Collection<string>();

        dinosaurs.Add("Psitticosaurus");
        dinosaurs.Add("Caudipteryx");
        dinosaurs.Add("Compsognathus");
        dinosaurs.Add("Muttaburrasaurus");

        Console.WriteLine("{0} dinosaurs:", dinosaurs.Count);
        Display(dinosaurs);

        Console.WriteLine("\nIndexOf(\"Muttaburrasaurus\"): {0}",
            dinosaurs.IndexOf("Muttaburrasaurus"));

        Console.WriteLine("\nContains(\"Caudipteryx\"): {0}",
            dinosaurs.Contains("Caudipteryx"));

        Console.WriteLine("\nInsert(2, \"Nanotyrannus\")");
        dinosaurs.Insert(2, "Nanotyrannus");
        Display(dinosaurs);

        Console.WriteLine("\ndinosaurs[2]: {0}", dinosaurs[2]);

        Console.WriteLine("\ndinosaurs[2] = \"Microraptor\"");
        dinosaurs[2] = "Microraptor";
        Display(dinosaurs);

        Console.WriteLine("\nRemove(\"Microraptor\")");
        dinosaurs.Remove("Microraptor");
        Display(dinosaurs);

        Console.WriteLine("\nRemoveAt(0)");
        dinosaurs.RemoveAt(0);
        Display(dinosaurs);

        Console.WriteLine("\ndinosaurs.Clear()");
        dinosaurs.Clear();
        Console.WriteLine("Count: {0}", dinosaurs.Count);
    }

    private static void Display(Collection<string> cs)
    {
        Console.WriteLine();
        foreach( string item in cs )
        {
            Console.WriteLine(item);
        }
    }
}

/* This code example produces the following output:

4 dinosaurs:

Psitticosaurus
Caudipteryx
Compsognathus
Muttaburrasaurus

IndexOf("Muttaburrasaurus"): 3

Contains("Caudipteryx"): True

Insert(2, "Nanotyrannus")

Psitticosaurus
Caudipteryx
Nanotyrannus
Compsognathus
Muttaburrasaurus

dinosaurs[2]: Nanotyrannus

dinosaurs[2] = "Microraptor"

Psitticosaurus
Caudipteryx
Microraptor
Compsognathus
Muttaburrasaurus

Remove("Microraptor")

Psitticosaurus
Caudipteryx
Compsognathus
Muttaburrasaurus

RemoveAt(0)

Caudipteryx
Compsognathus
Muttaburrasaurus

dinosaurs.Clear()
Count: 0
 */

Remarks

Collection<T> accepts null as a valid value for reference types and allows duplicate elements.

This property provides the ability to access a specific element in the collection by using the following syntax: myCollection[index].

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.

Retrieving the value of this property is an O(1) operation; setting the property is also an O(1) operation.

Notes to Inheritors

Derived classes can override SetItem(Int32, T) to change the behavior of setting this property.

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 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 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1
UWP 10.0

See also