ArrayList.Clear Method

Definition

Namespace:

System.Collections

Assembly:

System.Runtime.dll

Source:

ArrayList.cs

Removes all elements from the ArrayList.

public:
 virtual void Clear();

public virtual void Clear ();

abstract member Clear : unit -> unit
override this.Clear : unit -> unit

Public Overridable Sub Clear ()

Implements

Clear()

Exceptions

NotSupportedException

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.

using namespace System;
using namespace System::Collections;
void PrintValues( IEnumerable^ myList );
int main()
{
   
   // Creates and initializes a new ArrayList.
   ArrayList^ myAL = gcnew 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 );
}

void PrintValues( IEnumerable^ myList )
{
   IEnumerator^ myEnum = myList->GetEnumerator();
   while ( myEnum->MoveNext() )
   {
      Object^ obj = safe_cast<Object^>(myEnum->Current);
      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:
 */

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:
*/

Imports System.Collections

Public Class SamplesArrayList    
    
    Public Shared Sub Main()
        
        ' Creates and initializes a new ArrayList.
        Dim myAL As 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)
    End Sub

    Public Shared Sub PrintValues(myList As IEnumerable)
        Dim obj As [Object]
        For Each obj In  myList
            Console.Write("   {0}", obj)
        Next obj
        Console.WriteLine()
    End Sub

End Class

' 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.

See also

• TrimToSize()
• Capacity
• Count