StringDictionary.Item[String] Property

Definition

Namespace:

System.Collections.Specialized

Assemblies:

netstandard.dll, System.Collections.Specialized.dll

Source:

StringDictionary.cs

Gets or sets the value associated with the specified key.

C#

public virtual string? this[string key] { get; set; }

Parameters

key

String

The key whose value to get or set.

Property Value

String

The value associated with the specified key. If the specified key is not found, Get returns null, and Set creates a new entry with the specified key.

Exceptions

ArgumentNullException

key is null.

Examples

The following code example enumerates the elements of a StringDictionary.

C#

using System;
using System.Collections;
using System.Collections.Specialized;

public class SamplesStringDictionary  {

   public static void Main()  {

      // Creates and initializes a new StringDictionary.
      StringDictionary myCol = new StringDictionary();
      myCol.Add( "red", "rojo" );
      myCol.Add( "green", "verde" );
      myCol.Add( "blue", "azul" );

      // Display the contents of the collection using foreach. This is the preferred method.
      Console.WriteLine( "Displays the elements using foreach:" );
      PrintKeysAndValues1( myCol );

      // Display the contents of the collection using the enumerator.
      Console.WriteLine( "Displays the elements using the IEnumerator:" );
      PrintKeysAndValues2( myCol );

      // Display the contents of the collection using the Keys, Values, Count, and Item properties.
      Console.WriteLine( "Displays the elements using the Keys, Values, Count, and Item properties:" );
      PrintKeysAndValues3( myCol );
   }

   // Uses the foreach statement which hides the complexity of the enumerator.
   // NOTE: The foreach statement is the preferred way of enumerating the contents of a collection.
   public static void PrintKeysAndValues1( StringDictionary myCol )  {
      Console.WriteLine( "   KEY                       VALUE" );
      foreach ( DictionaryEntry de in myCol )
         Console.WriteLine( "   {0,-25} {1}", de.Key, de.Value );
      Console.WriteLine();
   }

   // Uses the enumerator.
   // NOTE: The foreach statement is the preferred way of enumerating the contents of a collection.
   public static void PrintKeysAndValues2( StringDictionary myCol )  {
      IEnumerator myEnumerator = myCol.GetEnumerator();
      DictionaryEntry de;
      Console.WriteLine( "   KEY                       VALUE" );
      while ( myEnumerator.MoveNext() )  {
         de = (DictionaryEntry) myEnumerator.Current;
         Console.WriteLine( "   {0,-25} {1}", de.Key, de.Value );
      }
      Console.WriteLine();
   }

   // Uses the Keys, Values, Count, and Item properties.
   public static void PrintKeysAndValues3( StringDictionary myCol )  {
      String[] myKeys = new String[myCol.Count];
      myCol.Keys.CopyTo( myKeys, 0 );

      Console.WriteLine( "   INDEX KEY                       VALUE" );
      for ( int i = 0; i < myCol.Count; i++ )
         Console.WriteLine( "   {0,-5} {1,-25} {2}", i, myKeys[i], myCol[myKeys[i]] );
      Console.WriteLine();
   }
}

/*
This code produces the following output.

Displays the elements using foreach:
   KEY                       VALUE
   red                       rojo
   blue                      azul
   green                     verde

Displays the elements using the IEnumerator:
   KEY                       VALUE
   red                       rojo
   blue                      azul
   green                     verde

Displays the elements using the Keys, Values, Count, and Item properties:
   INDEX KEY                       VALUE
   0     red                       rojo
   1     blue                      azul
   2     green                     verde

*/

Remarks

The key is handled in a case-insensitive manner; it is translated to lowercase before it is used.

A key cannot be null, but a value can. To distinguish between null that is returned because the specified key is not found and null that is returned because the value of the specified key is null, use the ContainsKey method to determine if the key exists in the list.

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.

Applies to

See also

• Performing Culture-Insensitive String Operations