List<T>.Add(T) Method

Definition

Adds an object to the end of the List<T>.

C#
public void Add (T item);

Parameters

item
T

The object to be added to the end of the List<T>. The value can be null for reference types.

Implements

Examples

The following example demonstrates how to add, remove, and insert a simple business object in a List<T>.

C#
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
// Simple business object. A PartId is used to identify the type of part
// but the part name can change.
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 PartId;
        }
        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()
    {
        // Create a list of parts.
        List<Part> parts = new List<Part>();

        // Add parts to the list.
        parts.Add(new Part() { PartName = "crank arm", PartId = 1234 });
        parts.Add(new Part() { PartName = "chain ring", PartId = 1334 });
        parts.Add(new Part() { PartName = "regular seat", PartId = 1434 });
        parts.Add(new Part() { PartName = "banana seat", PartId = 1444 });
        parts.Add(new Part() { PartName = "cassette", PartId = 1534 });
        parts.Add(new Part() { PartName = "shift lever", PartId = 1634 });

        // Write out the parts in the list. This will call the overridden ToString method
        // in the Part class.
        Console.WriteLine();
        foreach (Part aPart in parts)
        {
            Console.WriteLine(aPart);
        }

        // Check the list for part #1734. This calls the IEquatable.Equals method
        // of the Part class, which checks the PartId for equality.
        Console.WriteLine("\nContains(\"1734\"): {0}",
        parts.Contains(new Part { PartId = 1734, PartName = "" }));

        // Insert a new item at position 2.
        Console.WriteLine("\nInsert(2, \"1834\")");
        parts.Insert(2, new Part() { PartName = "brake lever", PartId = 1834 });

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

        Console.WriteLine("\nParts[3]: {0}", parts[3]);

        Console.WriteLine("\nRemove(\"1534\")");

        // This will remove part 1534 even though the PartName is different,
        // because the Equals method only checks PartId for equality.
        parts.Remove(new Part() { PartId = 1534, PartName = "cogs" });

        Console.WriteLine();
        foreach (Part aPart in parts)
        {
            Console.WriteLine(aPart);
        }
        Console.WriteLine("\nRemoveAt(3)");
        // This will remove the part at index 3.
        parts.RemoveAt(3);

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

            /*

             ID: 1234   Name: crank arm
             ID: 1334   Name: chain ring
             ID: 1434   Name: regular seat
             ID: 1444   Name: banana seat
             ID: 1534   Name: cassette
             ID: 1634   Name: shift lever

             Contains("1734"): False

             Insert(2, "1834")
             ID: 1234   Name: crank arm
             ID: 1334   Name: chain ring
             ID: 1834   Name: brake lever
             ID: 1434   Name: regular seat
             ID: 1444   Name: banana seat
             ID: 1534   Name: cassette
             ID: 1634   Name: shift lever

             Parts[3]: ID: 1434   Name: regular seat

             Remove("1534")

             ID: 1234   Name: crank arm
             ID: 1334   Name: chain ring
             ID: 1834   Name: brake lever
             ID: 1434   Name: regular seat
             ID: 1444   Name: banana seat
             ID: 1634   Name: shift lever

             RemoveAt(3)

             ID: 1234   Name: crank arm
             ID: 1334   Name: chain ring
             ID: 1834   Name: brake lever
             ID: 1444   Name: banana seat
             ID: 1634   Name: shift lever


         */
    }
}

The following example demonstrates several properties and methods of the List<T> generic class, including the Add method. The parameterless constructor is used to create a list of strings with a capacity of 0. The Capacity property is displayed, and then the Add method is used to add several items. The items are listed, and the Capacity property is displayed again, along with the Count property, to show that the capacity has been increased as needed.

Other properties and methods are used to search for, insert, and remove elements from the list, and finally to clear the list.

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

List<T> accepts null as a valid value for reference types and allows duplicate elements.

If Count already equals Capacity, the capacity of the List<T> is increased by automatically reallocating the internal array, and the existing elements are copied to the new array before the new element is added.

If Count is less than Capacity, this method is an O(1) operation. If the capacity needs to be increased to accommodate the new element, this method becomes an O(n) operation, where n is Count.

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