KeyedCollection<TKey,TItem>.ClearItems Method

Definition

Removes all elements from the KeyedCollection<TKey,TItem>.

protected override void ClearItems ();

Examples

This section contains two code examples that demonstrate overriding the ClearItems method to provide custom behavior for clearing all objects from the collection. The first example adds a custom notification event and the second provides support for a collection of objects with mutable keys.

Example 1

The following code example shows how to override the protected InsertItem, RemoveItem, ClearItems, and SetItem methods, to provide custom behavior for the Add, Remove, and Clear methods, and for setting the default Item[] property (the indexer in C#). The custom behavior provided in this example is a notification event named Changed, which is raised at the end of each of the overridden methods.

The code example creates the SimpleOrder class, which derives from KeyedCollection<TKey,TItem> and represents a simple order form. The order form contains OrderItem objects representing items ordered. The code example also creates a SimpleOrderChangedEventArgs class to contain the event information, and an enumeration to identify the type of change.

The code example demonstrates the custom behavior by calling the properties and methods of the derived class, in the Main method of the Demo class.

This code example uses objects with immutable keys. For a code example that uses mutable keys, see ChangeItemKey.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;

// This class derives from KeyedCollection and shows how to override
// the protected ClearItems, InsertItem, RemoveItem, and SetItem
// methods in order to change the behavior of the default Item
// property and the Add, Clear, Insert, and Remove methods. The
// class implements a Changed event, which is raised by all the
// protected methods.
//
// SimpleOrder is a collection of OrderItem objects, and its key
// is the PartNumber field of OrderItem. PartNumber is an Integer,
// so SimpleOrder inherits KeyedCollection<int, OrderItem>.
// (Note that the key of OrderItem cannot be changed; if it could
// be changed, SimpleOrder would have to override ChangeItemKey.)
//
public class SimpleOrder : KeyedCollection<int, OrderItem>
{
    public event EventHandler<SimpleOrderChangedEventArgs> Changed;

    // This parameterless constructor calls the base class constructor
    // that specifies a dictionary threshold of 0, so that the internal
    // dictionary is created as soon as an item is added to the
    // collection.
    //
    public SimpleOrder() : base(null, 0) {}

    // This is the only method that absolutely must be overridden,
    // because without it the KeyedCollection cannot extract the
    // keys from the items.
    //
    protected override int GetKeyForItem(OrderItem item)
    {
        // In this example, the key is the part number.
        return item.PartNumber;
    }

    protected override void InsertItem(int index, OrderItem newItem)
    {
        base.InsertItem(index, newItem);

        EventHandler<SimpleOrderChangedEventArgs> temp = Changed;
        if (temp != null)
        {
            temp(this, new SimpleOrderChangedEventArgs(
                ChangeType.Added, newItem, null));
        }
    }

    protected override void SetItem(int index, OrderItem newItem)
    {
        OrderItem replaced = Items[index];
        base.SetItem(index, newItem);

        EventHandler<SimpleOrderChangedEventArgs> temp = Changed;
        if (temp != null)
        {
            temp(this, new SimpleOrderChangedEventArgs(
                ChangeType.Replaced, replaced, newItem));
        }
    }

    protected override void RemoveItem(int index)
    {
        OrderItem removedItem = Items[index];
        base.RemoveItem(index);

        EventHandler<SimpleOrderChangedEventArgs> temp = Changed;
        if (temp != null)
        {
            temp(this, new SimpleOrderChangedEventArgs(
                ChangeType.Removed, removedItem, null));
        }
    }

    protected override void ClearItems()
    {
        base.ClearItems();

        EventHandler<SimpleOrderChangedEventArgs> temp = Changed;
        if (temp != null)
        {
            temp(this, new SimpleOrderChangedEventArgs(
                ChangeType.Cleared, null, null));
        }
    }
}

// Event argument for the Changed event.
//
public class SimpleOrderChangedEventArgs : EventArgs
{
    private OrderItem _changedItem;
    private ChangeType _changeType;
    private OrderItem _replacedWith;

    public OrderItem ChangedItem { get { return _changedItem; }}
    public ChangeType ChangeType { get { return _changeType; }}
    public OrderItem ReplacedWith { get { return _replacedWith; }}

    public SimpleOrderChangedEventArgs(ChangeType change,
        OrderItem item, OrderItem replacement)
    {
        _changeType = change;
        _changedItem = item;
        _replacedWith = replacement;
    }
}

public enum ChangeType
{
    Added,
    Removed,
    Replaced,
    Cleared
};

public class Demo
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        SimpleOrder weekly = new SimpleOrder();
        weekly.Changed += new
            EventHandler<SimpleOrderChangedEventArgs>(ChangedHandler);

        // The Add method, inherited from Collection, takes OrderItem.
        //
        weekly.Add(new OrderItem(110072674, "Widget", 400, 45.17));
        weekly.Add(new OrderItem(110072675, "Sprocket", 27, 5.3));
        weekly.Add(new OrderItem(101030411, "Motor", 10, 237.5));
        weekly.Add(new OrderItem(110072684, "Gear", 175, 5.17));

        Display(weekly);

        // The Contains method of KeyedCollection takes TKey.
        //
        Console.WriteLine("\nContains(101030411): {0}",
            weekly.Contains(101030411));

        // The default Item property of KeyedCollection takes the key
        // type, Integer. The property is read-only.
        //
        Console.WriteLine("\nweekly[101030411].Description: {0}",
            weekly[101030411].Description);

        // The Remove method of KeyedCollection takes a key.
        //
        Console.WriteLine("\nRemove(101030411)");
        weekly.Remove(101030411);

        // The Insert method, inherited from Collection, takes an
        // index and an OrderItem.
        //
        Console.WriteLine("\nInsert(2, new OrderItem(...))");
        weekly.Insert(2, new OrderItem(111033401, "Nut", 10, .5));

        // The default Item property is overloaded. One overload comes
        // from KeyedCollection<int, OrderItem>; that overload
        // is read-only, and takes Integer because it retrieves by key.
        // The other overload comes from Collection<OrderItem>, the
        // base class of KeyedCollection<int, OrderItem>; it
        // retrieves by index, so it also takes an Integer. The compiler
        // uses the most-derived overload, from KeyedCollection, so the
        // only way to access SimpleOrder by index is to cast it to
        // Collection<OrderItem>. Otherwise the index is interpreted
        // as a key, and KeyNotFoundException is thrown.
        //
        Collection<OrderItem> coweekly = weekly;
        Console.WriteLine("\ncoweekly[2].Description: {0}",
            coweekly[2].Description);

        Console.WriteLine("\ncoweekly[2] = new OrderItem(...)");
        coweekly[2] = new OrderItem(127700026, "Crank", 27, 5.98);

        OrderItem temp = coweekly[2];

        // The IndexOf method, inherited from Collection<OrderItem>,
        // takes an OrderItem instead of a key.
        //
        Console.WriteLine("\nIndexOf(temp): {0}", weekly.IndexOf(temp));

        // The inherited Remove method also takes an OrderItem.
        //
        Console.WriteLine("\nRemove(temp)");
        weekly.Remove(temp);

        Console.WriteLine("\nRemoveAt(0)");
        weekly.RemoveAt(0);

        // Increase the quantity for a line item.
        Console.WriteLine("\ncoweekly(1) = New OrderItem(...)");
        coweekly[1] = new OrderItem(coweekly[1].PartNumber,
            coweekly[1].Description, coweekly[1].Quantity + 1000,
            coweekly[1].UnitPrice);

        Display(weekly);

        Console.WriteLine();
        weekly.Clear();
    }

    private static void Display(SimpleOrder order)
    {
        Console.WriteLine();
        foreach( OrderItem item in order )
        {
            Console.WriteLine(item);
        }
    }

    private static void ChangedHandler(object source,
        SimpleOrderChangedEventArgs e)
    {

        OrderItem item = e.ChangedItem;

        if (e.ChangeType==ChangeType.Replaced)
        {
            OrderItem replacement = e.ReplacedWith;

            Console.WriteLine("{0} (quantity {1}) was replaced " +
                "by {2}, (quantity {3}).", item.Description,
                item.Quantity, replacement.Description,
                replacement.Quantity);
        }
        else if(e.ChangeType == ChangeType.Cleared)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("The order list was cleared.");
        }
        else
        {
            Console.WriteLine("{0} (quantity {1}) was {2}.",
                item.Description, item.Quantity, e.ChangeType);
        }
    }
}

// This class represents a simple line item in an order. All the
// values are immutable except quantity.
//
public class OrderItem
{
    private int _partNumber;
    private string _description;
    private double _unitPrice;
    private int _quantity;

    public int PartNumber { get { return _partNumber; }}
    public string Description { get { return _description; }}
    public double UnitPrice { get { return _unitPrice; }}
    public int Quantity { get { return _quantity; }}

    public OrderItem(int partNumber, string description, int quantity,
        double unitPrice)
    {
        _partNumber = partNumber;
        _description = description;
        _quantity = quantity;
        _unitPrice = unitPrice;
    }

    public override string ToString()
    {
        return String.Format(
            "{0,9} {1,6} {2,-12} at {3,8:#,###.00} = {4,10:###,###.00}",
            PartNumber, _quantity, Description, UnitPrice,
            UnitPrice * _quantity);
    }
}

/* This code example produces the following output:

Widget (quantity 400) was Added.
Sprocket (quantity 27) was Added.
Motor (quantity 10) was Added.
Gear (quantity 175) was Added.

110072674    400 Widget       at    45.17 =  18,068.00
110072675     27 Sprocket     at     5.30 =     143.10
101030411     10 Motor        at   237.50 =   2,375.00
110072684    175 Gear         at     5.17 =     904.75

Contains(101030411): True

weekly[101030411].Description: Motor

Remove(101030411)
Motor (quantity 10) was Removed.

Insert(2, new OrderItem(...))
Nut (quantity 10) was Added.

coweekly[2].Description: Nut

coweekly[2] = new OrderItem(...)
Nut (quantity 10) was replaced by Crank, (quantity 27).

IndexOf(temp): 2

Remove(temp)
Crank (quantity 27) was Removed.

RemoveAt(0)
Widget (quantity 400) was Removed.

coweekly(1) = New OrderItem(...)
Gear (quantity 175) was replaced by Gear, (quantity 1175).

110072675     27 Sprocket     at     5.30 =     143.10
110072684   1175 Gear         at     5.17 =   6,074.75

The order list was cleared.
 */

Example 2

The following code example shows how to override the protected ChangeItemKey method to support mutable keys, and how to override the protected InsertItem, RemoveItem, ClearItems, and SetItem methods to maintain the integrity of the keys and the collection.

The code example creates the MutableKeys collection, which derives from KeyedCollection<TKey,TItem>, and the MutableKey class. The MutableKey class has a settable Key property. When a new key is assigned to the property, the property setter calls the internal (Friend in Visual Basic) ChangeKey method of the collection to test whether the new key would conflict with an existing key. If so, an exception is thrown and the property value is not changed.

In order to maintain the connection between a MutableKey object and the MutableKeys collection and to prevent an object from being inserted into two collections, the MutableKey class has an internal (Friend in Visual Basic) Collection field. This field is maintained by the protected methods that provide custom behavior for adding and removing items from the collection, such as the InsertItem method. The field is set when the item is added to a collection and cleared when the item is removed.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;

// This class demonstrates one way to use the ChangeItemKey
// method to store objects with keys that can be changed. The
// ChangeItemKey method is used to keep the internal lookup
// Dictionary in sync with the keys of the stored objects.
//
// MutableKeys stores MutableKey objects, which have an Integer
// Key property that can be set. Therefore, MutableKeys inherits
// KeyedCollection(Of Integer, MutableKey).
//
public class MutableKeys : KeyedCollection<int, MutableKey>
{
    // This parameterless constructor delegates to the base class
    // constructor that specifies a dictionary threshold. A
    // threshold of 0 means the internal Dictionary is created
    // the first time an object is added.
    //
    public MutableKeys() : base(null, 0) {}

    protected override int GetKeyForItem(MutableKey item)
    {
        // The key is MutableKey.Key.
        return item.Key;
    }

    protected override void InsertItem(int index, MutableKey newItem)
    {
        if (newItem.Collection != null)
            throw new ArgumentException("The item already belongs to a collection.");

        base.InsertItem(index, newItem);
        newItem.Collection = this;
    }

    protected override void SetItem(int index, MutableKey newItem)
    {
        MutableKey replaced = Items[index];

        if (newItem.Collection != null)
            throw new ArgumentException("The item already belongs to a collection.");

        base.SetItem(index, newItem);
        newItem.Collection = this;
        replaced.Collection = null;
    }

    protected override void RemoveItem(int index)
    {
        MutableKey removedItem = Items[index];

        base.RemoveItem(index);
        removedItem.Collection = null;
    }

    protected override void ClearItems()
    {
        foreach( MutableKey mk in Items )
        {
            mk.Collection = null;
        }

        base.ClearItems();
    }

    internal void ChangeKey(MutableKey item, int newKey)
    {
        base.ChangeItemKey(item, newKey);
    }

    public void Dump()
    {
        Console.WriteLine("\nDUMP:");
        if (Dictionary == null)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("    The dictionary has not been created.");
        }
        else
        {
            Console.WriteLine("    Dictionary entries");
            Console.WriteLine("    ------------------");

            foreach( KeyValuePair<int, MutableKey> kvp in Dictionary )
            {
                Console.WriteLine("    {0} : {1}", kvp.Key, kvp.Value);
            }
        }

        Console.WriteLine("\n    List of items");
        Console.WriteLine("    -------------");

        foreach( MutableKey mk in Items )
        {
            Console.WriteLine("    {0}", mk);
        }
    }
}

public class Demo
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        MutableKeys mkeys = new MutableKeys();

        // The Add method is inherited from Collection.
        //
        mkeys.Add(new MutableKey(110072674, "Widget"));
        mkeys.Add(new MutableKey(110072675, "Sprocket"));

        mkeys.Dump();

        Console.WriteLine("\nCreate and insert a new item:");
        MutableKey test = new MutableKey(110072684, "Gear");
        mkeys.Insert(1, test);

        mkeys.Dump();

        try
        {
            Console.WriteLine("\nTry to insert the item again:");
            mkeys.Insert(1, test);
        }
        catch(ArgumentException ex)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Error: {0}", ex.Message);
        }

        Console.WriteLine("\nChange the Key property of the item:");
        test.Key = 100000072;

        mkeys.Dump();

        try
        {
            Console.WriteLine("\nTry to set the Key property to an existing key:");
            test.Key = 110072674;
        }
        catch(ArgumentException ex)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Error: {0}", ex.Message);
        }

        mkeys.Dump();
    }

    private static void Display(MutableKeys order)
    {
        Console.WriteLine();
        foreach( MutableKey item in order )
        {
            Console.WriteLine(item);
        }
    }
}

// This class has a key that can be changed.
//
public class MutableKey
{

    public MutableKey(int newKey, string newValue)
    {
        _key = newKey;
        Value = newValue;
    } //New

    public string Value;
    internal MutableKeys Collection;

    private int _key;
    public int Key
    {
        get
        {
            return _key;
        }
        set
        {
            if (Collection != null)
            {
                Collection.ChangeKey(this, value);
            }

            _key = value;
        }
    }

    public override string ToString()
    {
        return String.Format("{0,9} {1}", _key, Value);
    }
}

/* This code example produces the following output:

DUMP:
    Dictionary entries
    ------------------
    110072674 : 110072674 Widget
    110072675 : 110072675 Sprocket

    List of items
    -------------
    110072674 Widget
    110072675 Sprocket

Create and insert a new item:

DUMP:
    Dictionary entries
    ------------------
    110072674 : 110072674 Widget
    110072675 : 110072675 Sprocket
    110072684 : 110072684 Gear

    List of items
    -------------
    110072674 Widget
    110072684 Gear
    110072675 Sprocket

Try to insert the item again:
Error: The item already belongs to a collection.

Change the Key property of the item:

DUMP:
    Dictionary entries
    ------------------
    110072674 : 110072674 Widget
    110072675 : 110072675 Sprocket
    100000072 : 100000072 Gear

    List of items
    -------------
    110072674 Widget
    100000072 Gear
    110072675 Sprocket

Try to set the Key property to an existing key:
Error: An item with the same key has already been added.

DUMP:
    Dictionary entries
    ------------------
    110072674 : 110072674 Widget
    110072675 : 110072675 Sprocket
    100000072 : 100000072 Gear

    List of items
    -------------
    110072674 Widget
    100000072 Gear
    110072675 Sprocket
 */

Remarks

If there is a lookup dictionary, this method clears it but does not delete it.

If the number of elements has exceeded the dictionary creation threshold and the KeyedCollection<TKey,TItem> is using a lookup dictionary, it will continue to use a lookup dictionary even though the number of elements is again under the threshold.

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

Notes for Implementers

Override this method to provide customized behavior for the Clear method, inherited from the Collection<T> generic class.

Call the base class implementation of this method to clear the underlying collection and to clear the lookup dictionary.

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, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1
UWP 10.0

See also