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IList Interface

Definition

Represents a non-generic collection of objects that can be individually accessed by index.

C#
public interface IList : System.Collections.ICollection
C#
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.ComVisible(true)]
public interface IList : System.Collections.ICollection
Derived
Attributes
Implements

Examples

The following example demonstrates the implementation of the IList interface to create a simple, fixed-size list.

C#
using System;
using System.Collections;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var test = new SimpleList();

        // Populate the List.
        Console.WriteLine("Populate the List");
        test.Add("one");
        test.Add("two");
        test.Add("three");
        test.Add("four");
        test.Add("five");
        test.Add("six");
        test.Add("seven");
        test.Add("eight");
        test.PrintContents();
        Console.WriteLine();

        // Remove elements from the list.
        Console.WriteLine("Remove elements from the list");
        test.Remove("six");
        test.Remove("eight");
        test.PrintContents();
        Console.WriteLine();

        // Add an element to the end of the list.
        Console.WriteLine("Add an element to the end of the list");
        test.Add("nine");
        test.PrintContents();
        Console.WriteLine();

        // Insert an element into the middle of the list.
        Console.WriteLine("Insert an element into the middle of the list");
        test.Insert(4, "number");
        test.PrintContents();
        Console.WriteLine();

        // Check for specific elements in the list.
        Console.WriteLine("Check for specific elements in the list");
        Console.WriteLine($"List contains \"three\": {test.Contains("three")}");
        Console.WriteLine($"List contains \"ten\": {test.Contains("ten")}");
    }
}

class SimpleList : IList
{
    private object[] _contents = new object[8];
    private int _count;

    public SimpleList()
    {
        _count = 0;
    }

    // IList Members
    public int Add(object value)
    {
        if (_count < _contents.Length)
        {
            _contents[_count] = value;
            _count++;

            return (_count - 1);
        }

        return -1;
    }

    public void Clear()
    {
        _count = 0;
    }

    public bool Contains(object value)
    {
        for (int i = 0; i < Count; i++)
        {
            if (_contents[i] == value)
            {
                return true;
            }
        }
        return false;
    }

    public int IndexOf(object value)
    {
        for (int i = 0; i < Count; i++)
        {
            if (_contents[i] == value)
            {
                return i;
            }
        }
        return -1;
    }

    public void Insert(int index, object value)
    {
        if ((_count + 1 <= _contents.Length) && (index < Count) && (index >= 0))
        {
            _count++;

            for (int i = Count - 1; i > index; i--)
            {
                _contents[i] = _contents[i - 1];
            }
            _contents[index] = value;
        }
    }

    public bool IsFixedSize
    {
        get
        {
            return true;
        }
    }

    public bool IsReadOnly
    {
        get
        {
            return false;
        }
    }

    public void Remove(object value)
    {
        RemoveAt(IndexOf(value));
    }

    public void RemoveAt(int index)
    {
        if ((index >= 0) && (index < Count))
        {
            for (int i = index; i < Count - 1; i++)
            {
                _contents[i] = _contents[i + 1];
            }
            _count--;
        }
    }

    public object this[int index]
    {
        get
        {
            return _contents[index];
        }
        set
        {
            _contents[index] = value;
        }
    }

    // ICollection members.

    public void CopyTo(Array array, int index)
    {
        for (int i = 0; i < Count; i++)
        {
            array.SetValue(_contents[i], index++);
        }
    }

    public int Count
    {
        get
        {
            return _count;
        }
    }

    public bool IsSynchronized
    {
        get
        {
            return false;
        }
    }

    // Return the current instance since the underlying store is not
    // publicly available.
    public object SyncRoot
    {
        get
        {
            return this;
        }
    }

    // IEnumerable Members

    public IEnumerator GetEnumerator()
    {
        // Refer to the IEnumerator documentation for an example of
        // implementing an enumerator.
        throw new NotImplementedException("The method or operation is not implemented.");
    }

    public void PrintContents()
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"List has a capacity of {_contents.Length} and currently has {_count} elements.");
        Console.Write("List contents:");
        for (int i = 0; i < Count; i++)
        {
            Console.Write($" {_contents[i]}");
        }
        Console.WriteLine();
    }
}

// This code produces output similar to the following:
// Populate the List:
// List has a capacity of 8 and currently has 8 elements.
// List contents: one two three four five six seven eight
//
// Remove elements from the list:
// List has a capacity of 8 and currently has 6 elements.
// List contents: one two three four five seven
//
// Add an element to the end of the list:
// List has a capacity of 8 and currently has 7 elements.
// List contents: one two three four five seven nine
//
// Insert an element into the middle of the list:
// List has a capacity of 8 and currently has 8 elements.
// List contents: one two three four number five seven nine
//
// Check for specific elements in the list:
// List contains "three": True
// List contains "ten": False

Remarks

IList is a descendant of the ICollection interface and is the base interface of all non-generic lists. IList implementations fall into three categories: read-only, fixed-size, and variable-size. A read-only IList cannot be modified. A fixed-size IList does not allow the addition or removal of elements, but it allows the modification of existing elements. A variable-size IList allows the addition, removal, and modification of elements.

For the generic version of this interface, see System.Collections.Generic.IList<T>.

Properties

Count

Gets the number of elements contained in the ICollection.

(Inherited from ICollection)
IsFixedSize

Gets a value indicating whether the IList has a fixed size.

IsReadOnly

Gets a value indicating whether the IList is read-only.

IsSynchronized

Gets a value indicating whether access to the ICollection is synchronized (thread safe).

(Inherited from ICollection)
Item[Int32]

Gets or sets the element at the specified index.

SyncRoot

Gets an object that can be used to synchronize access to the ICollection.

(Inherited from ICollection)

Methods

Add(Object)

Adds an item to the IList.

Clear()

Removes all items from the IList.

Contains(Object)

Determines whether the IList contains a specific value.

CopyTo(Array, Int32)

Copies the elements of the ICollection to an Array, starting at a particular Array index.

(Inherited from ICollection)
GetEnumerator()

Returns an enumerator that iterates through a collection.

(Inherited from IEnumerable)
IndexOf(Object)

Determines the index of a specific item in the IList.

Insert(Int32, Object)

Inserts an item to the IList at the specified index.

Remove(Object)

Removes the first occurrence of a specific object from the IList.

RemoveAt(Int32)

Removes the IList item at the specified index.

Extension Methods

Cast<TResult>(IEnumerable)

Casts the elements of an IEnumerable to the specified type.

OfType<TResult>(IEnumerable)

Filters the elements of an IEnumerable based on a specified type.

AsParallel(IEnumerable)

Enables parallelization of a query.

AsQueryable(IEnumerable)

Converts an IEnumerable to an IQueryable.

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

See also