Array or someother collection where i can store multiple types

Question

I have a set of information that I need to store in some kind of collection, the problem is that i am not allowed to create a separate class for it because they say "i could mess up the structure and design of other things" so I have an integer and a string and what I want to do is to be able to store them like this

 index or similar   int           string

       index[0]          | 1 | "Bear, Person, Bird"|
       index[1]          | 2 | "Pear, Apples, Lime"|

The question is, is there a collection of some type for which I can store data like this without the need of a class so that i can reference it like this

myWeirdList.add(2,"Test, test, Test, test");

or

myWeirdArray.add(3,"roco,paco");

I hope the questions is clear if not I will keep an eye to better clarify..

Have you had a look at a Dictionary? msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/xfhwa508.aspx — Adriaan Stander
– Adriaan Stander, Commented Sep 7, 2011 at 5:24
Agree with Tim - array of Tuple<int, string> should do the trick! — VinayC
– VinayC, Commented Sep 7, 2011 at 5:42
I think "they" introduce even more trouble by not using a custom class — Henrik
– Henrik, Commented Sep 7, 2011 at 6:19

Random Dev · Accepted Answer · 2011-09-07 05:27:34Z

6

as Tim said for .net 4.0 there are Tuples:

var myTupleList = new List<Tuple<int, string>();
myTupleList.Add(Tuple.Create(2, "Test, test, Test, test");

if not you can allways use just object and box:

var myObjList = new ArrayList();
myObjList.Add(2);
myObjList.Add("Test, test, Test, test");

And if all other fails just make a private struct yourself - I just don't know how you could mess up some other design with this.

answered Sep 7, 2011 at 5:27

Random Dev

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2 Comments

user710502 Over a year ago

One question, so if I need to pass this to a property (the items), what should the property type be? List or Tuple?.. if i understand correctly..

Random Dev Over a year ago

if you want the Tuple-List than your type would have to be List<Tuple<int, string>>

Phil.Wheeler · Accepted Answer · 2011-09-07 05:23:17Z

2

You could use either object or dynamic if you're using .Net 4.0.

Alternatively you might consider using an array of Dictionary items where an array entry is of type <int, string>.

answered Sep 7, 2011 at 5:23

Phil.Wheeler

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Henrik · Accepted Answer · 2011-09-07 06:28:08Z

2

// Create a new dictionary
Dictionary<int,string> myWeirdList = new Dictionary<int, string>();

// Add items to it
myWeirdList.Add(2, "Test, test, Test, test");

// Retrieve text using key
var text_using_key = myWeirdList[2];

// Retrieve text using index
var text_using_index = myWeirdList.ElementAt(0).Value;

answered Sep 7, 2011 at 6:28

Henrik

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