List(T).AsReadOnly Method (System.Collections.Generic)

AsReadOnly Method

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Microsoft Visual Studio 2008/.NET Framework 3.5

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.NET Framework Class Library

List<(Of <(T>)>)..::.AsReadOnly Method

Updated: November 2007

Returns a read-only IList<(Of <(T>)>) wrapper for the current collection.

Namespace: System.Collections.Generic
Assembly: mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)

Syntax

Visual Basic (Declaration)

Public Function AsReadOnly As ReadOnlyCollection(Of T)

Visual Basic (Usage)

Dim instance As List
Dim returnValue As ReadOnlyCollection(Of T)

returnValue = instance.AsReadOnly()

public ReadOnlyCollection<T> AsReadOnly()

Visual C++

public:
ReadOnlyCollection<T>^ AsReadOnly()

public ReadOnlyCollection<T> AsReadOnly()

JScript

public function AsReadOnly() : ReadOnlyCollection<T>

Return Value

Type: System.Collections.ObjectModel..::.ReadOnlyCollection<(Of <(T>)>)

A ReadOnlyCollection<(Of <(T>)>) that acts as a read-only wrapper around the current List<(Of <(T>)>).

Remarks

To prevent any modifications to List<(Of <(T>)>), expose List<(Of <(T>)>) only through this wrapper.

A collection that is read-only is simply a collection with a wrapper that prevents modifying the collection; therefore, if changes are made to the underlying collection, the read-only collection reflects those changes.

This method is an O(1) operation.

Examples

The following code example demonstrates the AsReadOnly method. A List<(Of <(T>)>) of strings with a capacity of 4 is created, because the ultimate size of the list is known to be exactly 4. The list is populated with four strings, and the AsReadOnly method is used to get a read-only IList<(Of <(T>)>) generic interface implementation that wraps the original list.

An element of the original list is set to "Coelophysis" using the Item property (the indexer in C#), and the contents of the read-only list are displayed again to demonstrate that it is just a wrapper for the original list.

Visual Basic

Imports System
Imports System.Collections.Generic

Public Class Example

    Public Shared Sub Main()

        Dim dinosaurs As New List(Of String)(4)

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "Capacity: {0}", dinosaurs.Capacity)

        dinosaurs.Add("Tyrannosaurus")
        dinosaurs.Add("Amargasaurus")
        dinosaurs.Add("Mamenchisaurus")
        dinosaurs.Add("Deinonychus")

        Console.WriteLine()
        For Each dinosaur As String In dinosaurs
            Console.WriteLine(dinosaur)
        Next

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & _
            "Dim roDinosaurs As IList(Of String) = dinosaurs.AsReadOnly")
        Dim roDinosaurs As IList(Of String) = dinosaurs.AsReadOnly

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "Elements in the read-only IList:")
        For Each dinosaur As String In roDinosaurs
            Console.WriteLine(dinosaur)
        Next

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "dinosaurs(2) = ""Coelophysis""")
        dinosaurs(2) = "Coelophysis"

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "Elements in the read-only IList:")
        For Each dinosaur As String In roDinosaurs
            Console.WriteLine(dinosaur)
        Next

    End Sub
End Class

' This code example produces the following output:
'
'Capacity: 4
'
'Tyrannosaurus
'Amargasaurus
'Mamenchisaurus
'Deinonychus
'
'Dim roDinosaurs As IList(Of String) = dinosaurs.AsReadOnly
'
'Elements in the read-only IList:
'Tyrannosaurus
'Amargasaurus
'Mamenchisaurus
'Deinonychus
'
'dinosaurs(2) = "Coelophysis"
'
'Elements in the read-only IList:
'Tyrannosaurus
'Amargasaurus
'Coelophysis
'Deinonychus

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

public class Example
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        List<string> dinosaurs = new List<string>(4);

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

        dinosaurs.Add("Tyrannosaurus");
        dinosaurs.Add("Amargasaurus");
        dinosaurs.Add("Mamenchisaurus");
        dinosaurs.Add("Deinonychus");

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

        Console.WriteLine("\nIList<string> roDinosaurs = dinosaurs.AsReadOnly()");
        IList<string> roDinosaurs = dinosaurs.AsReadOnly();

        Console.WriteLine("\nElements in the read-only IList:");
        foreach(string dinosaur in roDinosaurs)
        {
            Console.WriteLine(dinosaur);
        }

        Console.WriteLine("\ndinosaurs[2] = \"Coelophysis\"");
        dinosaurs[2] = "Coelophysis";

        Console.WriteLine("\nElements in the read-only IList:");
        foreach(string dinosaur in roDinosaurs)
        {
            Console.WriteLine(dinosaur);
        }
    }
}

/* This code example produces the following output:

Capacity: 4

Tyrannosaurus
Amargasaurus
Mamenchisaurus
Deinonychus

IList<string> roDinosaurs = dinosaurs.AsReadOnly()

Elements in the read-only IList:
Tyrannosaurus
Amargasaurus
Mamenchisaurus
Deinonychus

dinosaurs[2] = "Coelophysis"

Elements in the read-only IList:
Tyrannosaurus
Amargasaurus
Coelophysis
Deinonychus
 */

Visual C++

using namespace System;
using namespace System::Collections::Generic;

void main()
{
    List<String^>^ dinosaurs = gcnew List<String^>(4);

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

    dinosaurs->Add("Tyrannosaurus");
    dinosaurs->Add("Amargasaurus");
    dinosaurs->Add("Mamenchisaurus");
    dinosaurs->Add("Deinonychus");

    Console::WriteLine();
    for each(String^ dinosaur in dinosaurs)
    {
        Console::WriteLine(dinosaur);
    }

    Console::WriteLine("\nIList<String^>^ roDinosaurs = dinosaurs->AsReadOnly()");
    IList<String^>^ roDinosaurs = dinosaurs->AsReadOnly();

    Console::WriteLine("\nElements in the read-only IList:");
    for each(String^ dinosaur in roDinosaurs)
    {
        Console::WriteLine(dinosaur);
    }

    Console::WriteLine("\ndinosaurs[2] = \"Coelophysis\"");
    dinosaurs[2] = "Coelophysis";

    Console::WriteLine("\nElements in the read-only IList:");
    for each(String^ dinosaur in roDinosaurs)
    {
        Console::WriteLine(dinosaur);
    }
}

/* This code example produces the following output:

Capacity: 4

Tyrannosaurus
Amargasaurus
Mamenchisaurus
Deinonychus

IList<String^>^ roDinosaurs = dinosaurs->AsReadOnly()

Elements in the read-only IList:
Tyrannosaurus
Amargasaurus
Mamenchisaurus
Deinonychus

dinosaurs[2] = "Coelophysis"

Elements in the read-only IList:
Tyrannosaurus
Amargasaurus
Coelophysis
Deinonychus
 */

Platforms

Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98, Windows CE, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, Xbox 360

The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

Version Information