List<T>.Count Property

Definition

Gets the number of elements contained in the List<T>.

C#
public int Count { get; }

Property Value

The number of elements contained in the List<T>.

Implements

Examples

The following example demonstrates how to check the capacity and count of a List<T> that contains a simple business object, and illustrates using the TrimExcess method to remove extra capacity.

C#
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
// Simple business object. A PartId is used to identify a part
// but the part name be different for the same Id.
public class Part : IEquatable<Part>
{
    public string PartName { get; set; }
    public int PartId { get; set; }
    public override string ToString()
    {
        return "ID: " + PartId + "   Name: " + PartName;
    }
    public override bool Equals(object obj)
    {
        if (obj == null) return false;
        Part objAsPart = obj as Part;
        if (objAsPart == null) return false;
        else return Equals(objAsPart);
    }
    public override int GetHashCode()
    {
        return base.GetHashCode();
    }
    public bool Equals(Part other)
    {
        if (other == null) return false;
        return (this.PartId.Equals(other.PartId));
    }
    // Should also override == and != operators.
}
public class Example
{

    public static void Main()
    {
        List<Part> parts = new List<Part>();

        Console.WriteLine("\nCapacity: {0}", parts.Capacity);

        parts.Add(new Part() { PartName = "crank arm", PartId = 1234 });
        parts.Add(new Part() { PartName = "chain ring", PartId = 1334 });
        parts.Add(new Part() { PartName = "seat", PartId = 1434 });
        parts.Add(new Part() { PartName = "cassette", PartId = 1534 });
        parts.Add(new Part() { PartName = "shift lever", PartId = 1634 }); ;

        Console.WriteLine();
        foreach (Part aPart in parts)
        {
            Console.WriteLine(aPart);
        }

        Console.WriteLine("\nCapacity: {0}", parts.Capacity);
        Console.WriteLine("Count: {0}", parts.Count);

        parts.TrimExcess();
        Console.WriteLine("\nTrimExcess()");
        Console.WriteLine("Capacity: {0}", parts.Capacity);
        Console.WriteLine("Count: {0}", parts.Count);

        parts.Clear();
        Console.WriteLine("\nClear()");
        Console.WriteLine("Capacity: {0}", parts.Capacity);
        Console.WriteLine("Count: {0}", parts.Count);
    }
    /*
     This code example produces the following output.
            Capacity: 0

            ID: 1234   Name: crank arm
            ID: 1334   Name: chain ring
            ID: 1434   Name: seat
            ID: 1534   Name: cassette
            ID: 1634   Name: shift lever

            Capacity: 8
            Count: 5

            TrimExcess()
            Capacity: 5
            Count: 5

            Clear()
            Capacity: 5
            Count: 0
     */
}

The following example shows the value of the Count property at various points in the life of a list. After the list has been created and populated and its elements displayed, the Capacity and Count properties are displayed. These properties are displayed again after the TrimExcess method has been called, and again after the contents of the list are cleared.

C#
List<string> dinosaurs = new List<string>();

Console.WriteLine("\nCapacity: {0}", dinosaurs.Capacity);

dinosaurs.Add("Tyrannosaurus");
dinosaurs.Add("Amargasaurus");
dinosaurs.Add("Mamenchisaurus");
dinosaurs.Add("Deinonychus");
dinosaurs.Add("Compsognathus");
Console.WriteLine();
foreach(string dinosaur in dinosaurs)
{
    Console.WriteLine(dinosaur);
}

Console.WriteLine("\nCapacity: {0}", dinosaurs.Capacity);
Console.WriteLine("Count: {0}", dinosaurs.Count);

Console.WriteLine("\nContains(\"Deinonychus\"): {0}",
    dinosaurs.Contains("Deinonychus"));

Console.WriteLine("\nInsert(2, \"Compsognathus\")");
dinosaurs.Insert(2, "Compsognathus");

Console.WriteLine();
foreach(string dinosaur in dinosaurs)
{
    Console.WriteLine(dinosaur);
}

// Shows accessing the list using the Item property.
Console.WriteLine("\ndinosaurs[3]: {0}", dinosaurs[3]);

Console.WriteLine("\nRemove(\"Compsognathus\")");
dinosaurs.Remove("Compsognathus");

Console.WriteLine();
foreach(string dinosaur in dinosaurs)
{
    Console.WriteLine(dinosaur);
}

dinosaurs.TrimExcess();
Console.WriteLine("\nTrimExcess()");
Console.WriteLine("Capacity: {0}", dinosaurs.Capacity);
Console.WriteLine("Count: {0}", dinosaurs.Count);

dinosaurs.Clear();
Console.WriteLine("\nClear()");
Console.WriteLine("Capacity: {0}", dinosaurs.Capacity);
Console.WriteLine("Count: {0}", dinosaurs.Count);

/* This code example produces the following output:

Capacity: 0

Tyrannosaurus
Amargasaurus
Mamenchisaurus
Deinonychus
Compsognathus

Capacity: 8
Count: 5

Contains("Deinonychus"): True

Insert(2, "Compsognathus")

Tyrannosaurus
Amargasaurus
Compsognathus
Mamenchisaurus
Deinonychus
Compsognathus

dinosaurs[3]: Mamenchisaurus

Remove("Compsognathus")

Tyrannosaurus
Amargasaurus
Mamenchisaurus
Deinonychus
Compsognathus

TrimExcess()
Capacity: 5
Count: 5

Clear()
Capacity: 5
Count: 0
 */

Remarks

Capacity is the number of elements that the List<T> can store before resizing is required. Count is the number of elements that are actually in the List<T>.

Capacity is always greater than or equal to Count. If Count exceeds Capacity while adding elements, the capacity is increased by automatically reallocating the internal array before copying the old elements and adding the new elements.

Retrieving the value of this property is an O(1) operation.

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