ReadOnlyCollectionBase Class (System.Collections)

Collapse All

Language Filter

This page is specific to

Microsoft Visual Studio 2008/.NET Framework 3.5

Other versions are also available for the following:

.NET Framework Class Library

ReadOnlyCollectionBase Class

Updated: November 2007

Provides the abstract base class for a strongly typed non-generic read-only collection.

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

Syntax

Visual Basic (Declaration)

<SerializableAttribute> _
<ComVisibleAttribute(True)> _
Public MustInherit Class ReadOnlyCollectionBase _
    Implements ICollection, IEnumerable

Visual Basic (Usage)

Dim instance As ReadOnlyCollectionBase

[SerializableAttribute]
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
public abstract class ReadOnlyCollectionBase : ICollection, 
    IEnumerable

Visual C++

[SerializableAttribute]
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
public ref class ReadOnlyCollectionBase abstract : ICollection, 
    IEnumerable

/** @attribute SerializableAttribute */ 
/** @attribute ComVisibleAttribute(true) */
public abstract class ReadOnlyCollectionBase implements ICollection, 
    IEnumerable

JScript

public abstract class ReadOnlyCollectionBase implements ICollection, IEnumerable

Remarks

A ReadOnlyCollectionBase instance is always read-only. See CollectionBase for a modifiable version of this class.

Notes to Implementers:

This base class is provided to make it easier for implementers to create a strongly typed read-only custom collection. Implementers are encouraged to extend this base class instead of creating their own. Members of this base class are protected and are intended to be used through a derived class only.

This class makes the underlying collection available through the InnerList property, which is intended for use only by classes that are derived directly from ReadOnlyCollectionBase. The derived class must ensure that its own users cannot modify the underlying collection.

Examples

The following code example implements the ReadOnlyCollectionBase class.

Visual Basic

Imports System
Imports System.Collections

Public Class ROCollection
    Inherits ReadOnlyCollectionBase


    Public Sub New(sourceList As IList)
        InnerList.AddRange(sourceList)
    End Sub 'New


    Default Public ReadOnly Property Item(index As Integer) As [Object]
        Get
            Return InnerList(index)
        End Get
    End Property


    Public Function IndexOf(value As [Object]) As Integer
        Return InnerList.IndexOf(value)
    End Function 'IndexOf


    Public Function Contains(value As [Object]) As Boolean
        Return InnerList.Contains(value)
    End Function 'Contains

End Class 'ROCollection 


Public Class SamplesCollectionBase

    Public Shared Sub Main()

        ' Create an ArrayList.
        Dim myAL As New ArrayList()
        myAL.Add("red")
        myAL.Add("blue")
        myAL.Add("yellow")
        myAL.Add("green")
        myAL.Add("orange")
        myAL.Add("purple")

        ' Create a new ROCollection that contains the elements in myAL.
        Dim myCol As New ROCollection(myAL)

        ' Display the contents of the collection using For Each. This is the preferred method.
        Console.WriteLine("Contents of the collection (using For Each):")
        PrintValues1(myCol)

        ' Display the contents of the collection using the enumerator.
        Console.WriteLine("Contents of the collection (using enumerator):")
        PrintValues2(myCol)

        ' Display the contents of the collection using the Count property and the Item property.
        Console.WriteLine("Contents of the collection (using Count and Item):")
        PrintIndexAndValues(myCol)

        ' Search the collection with Contains and IndexOf.
        Console.WriteLine("Contains yellow: {0}", myCol.Contains("yellow"))
        Console.WriteLine("orange is at index {0}.", myCol.IndexOf("orange"))
        Console.WriteLine()

    End Sub 'Main


    ' Uses the Count property and the Item property.
    Public Shared Sub PrintIndexAndValues(myCol As ROCollection)
        Dim i As Integer
        For i = 0 To myCol.Count - 1
            Console.WriteLine("   [{0}]:   {1}", i, myCol(i))
        Next i
        Console.WriteLine()
    End Sub 'PrintIndexAndValues


    ' Uses the For Each statement which hides the complexity of the enumerator.
    ' NOTE: The For Each statement is the preferred way of enumerating the contents of a collection.
    Public Shared Sub PrintValues1(myCol As ROCollection)
        Dim obj As [Object]
        For Each obj In  myCol
            Console.WriteLine("   {0}", obj)
        Next obj
        Console.WriteLine()
    End Sub 'PrintValues1


    ' Uses the enumerator. 
    ' NOTE: The For Each statement is the preferred way of enumerating the contents of a collection.
    Public Shared Sub PrintValues2(myCol As ROCollection)
        Dim myEnumerator As System.Collections.IEnumerator = myCol.GetEnumerator()
        While myEnumerator.MoveNext()
            Console.WriteLine("   {0}", myEnumerator.Current)
        End While
        Console.WriteLine()
    End Sub 'PrintValues2

End Class 'SamplesCollectionBase 


'This code produces the following output.
'
'Contents of the collection (using For Each):
'   red
'   blue
'   yellow
'   green
'   orange
'   purple
'
'Contents of the collection (using enumerator):
'   red
'   blue
'   yellow
'   green
'   orange
'   purple
'
'Contents of the collection (using Count and Item):
'   [0]:   red
'   [1]:   blue
'   [2]:   yellow
'   [3]:   green
'   [4]:   orange
'   [5]:   purple
'
'Contains yellow: True
'orange is at index 4.

using System;
using System.Collections;

public class ROCollection : ReadOnlyCollectionBase  {

   public ROCollection( IList sourceList )  {
      InnerList.AddRange( sourceList );
   }

   public Object this[ int index ]  {
      get  {
         return( InnerList[index] );
      }
   }

   public int IndexOf( Object value )  {
      return( InnerList.IndexOf( value ) );
   }

   public bool Contains( Object value )  {
      return( InnerList.Contains( value ) );
   }

}


public class SamplesCollectionBase  {

   public static void Main()  {

      // Create an ArrayList.
      ArrayList myAL = new ArrayList();
      myAL.Add( "red" );
      myAL.Add( "blue" );
      myAL.Add( "yellow" );
      myAL.Add( "green" );
      myAL.Add( "orange" );
      myAL.Add( "purple" );

      // Create a new ROCollection that contains the elements in myAL.
      ROCollection myCol = new ROCollection( myAL );

      // Display the contents of the collection using foreach. This is the preferred method.
      Console.WriteLine( "Contents of the collection (using foreach):" );
      PrintValues1( myCol );

      // Display the contents of the collection using the enumerator.
      Console.WriteLine( "Contents of the collection (using enumerator):" );
      PrintValues2( myCol );

      // Display the contents of the collection using the Count property and the Item property.
      Console.WriteLine( "Contents of the collection (using Count and Item):" );
      PrintIndexAndValues( myCol );

      // Search the collection with Contains and IndexOf.
      Console.WriteLine( "Contains yellow: {0}", myCol.Contains( "yellow" ) );
      Console.WriteLine( "orange is at index {0}.", myCol.IndexOf( "orange" ) );
      Console.WriteLine();

   }

   // Uses the Count property and the Item property.
   public static void PrintIndexAndValues( ROCollection myCol )  {
      for ( int i = 0; i < myCol.Count; i++ )
         Console.WriteLine( "   [{0}]:   {1}", i, myCol[i] );
      Console.WriteLine();
   }

   // Uses the foreach statement which hides the complexity of the enumerator.
   // NOTE: The foreach statement is the preferred way of enumerating the contents of a collection.
   public static void PrintValues1( ROCollection myCol )  {
      foreach ( Object obj in myCol )
         Console.WriteLine( "   {0}", obj );
      Console.WriteLine();
   }

   // Uses the enumerator. 
   // NOTE: The foreach statement is the preferred way of enumerating the contents of a collection.
   public static void PrintValues2( ROCollection myCol )  {
      System.Collections.IEnumerator myEnumerator = myCol.GetEnumerator();
      while ( myEnumerator.MoveNext() )
         Console.WriteLine( "   {0}", myEnumerator.Current );
      Console.WriteLine();
   }

}


/* 
This code produces the following output.

Contents of the collection (using foreach):
   red
   blue
   yellow
   green
   orange
   purple

Contents of the collection (using enumerator):
   red
   blue
   yellow
   green
   orange
   purple

Contents of the collection (using Count and Item):
   [0]:   red
   [1]:   blue
   [2]:   yellow
   [3]:   green
   [4]:   orange
   [5]:   purple

Contains yellow: True
orange is at index 4.

*/

Visual C++

using namespace System;
using namespace System::Collections;
public ref class ROCollection: public ReadOnlyCollectionBase
{
public:
   ROCollection( IList^ sourceList )
   {
      InnerList->AddRange( sourceList );
   }

   property Object^ Item [int]
   {
      Object^ get( int index )
      {
         return (InnerList[ index ]);
      }

   }
   int IndexOf( Object^ value )
   {
      return (InnerList->IndexOf( value ));
   }

   bool Contains( Object^ value )
   {
      return (InnerList->Contains( value ));
   }

};

void PrintIndexAndValues( ROCollection^ myCol );
void PrintValues2( ROCollection^ myCol );
int main()
{
   // Create an ArrayList.
   ArrayList^ myAL = gcnew ArrayList;
   myAL->Add( "red" );
   myAL->Add( "blue" );
   myAL->Add( "yellow" );
   myAL->Add( "green" );
   myAL->Add( "orange" );
   myAL->Add( "purple" );

   // Create a new ROCollection that contains the elements in myAL.
   ROCollection^ myCol = gcnew ROCollection( myAL );

   // Display the contents of the collection using the enumerator.
   Console::WriteLine( "Contents of the collection (using enumerator):" );
   PrintValues2( myCol );

   // Display the contents of the collection using the Count property and the Item property.
   Console::WriteLine( "Contents of the collection (using Count and Item):" );
   PrintIndexAndValues( myCol );

   // Search the collection with Contains and IndexOf.
   Console::WriteLine( "Contains yellow: {0}", myCol->Contains( "yellow" ) );
   Console::WriteLine( "orange is at index {0}.", myCol->IndexOf( "orange" ) );
   Console::WriteLine();
}


// Uses the Count property and the Item property.
void PrintIndexAndValues( ROCollection^ myCol )
{
   for ( int i = 0; i < myCol->Count; i++ )
      Console::WriteLine( "   [{0}]:   {1}", i, myCol->Item[ i ] );
   Console::WriteLine();
}


// Uses the enumerator. 
void PrintValues2( ROCollection^ myCol )
{
   System::Collections::IEnumerator^ myEnumerator = myCol->GetEnumerator();
   while ( myEnumerator->MoveNext() )
      Console::WriteLine( "   {0}", myEnumerator->Current );

   Console::WriteLine();
}

/* 
This code produces the following output.

Contents of the collection (using enumerator):
   red
   blue
   yellow
   green
   orange
   purple

Contents of the collection (using Count and Item):
   [0]:   red
   [1]:   blue
   [2]:   yellow
   [3]:   green
   [4]:   orange
   [5]:   purple

Contains yellow: True
orange is at index 4.

*/

import System.*;
import System.Collections.*;

public class ROCollection extends ReadOnlyCollectionBase
{
    public ROCollection(IList sourceList) 
    {
        get_InnerList().AddRange(sourceList);
    } //ROCollection

    /** @property 
     */
    public Object get_Item(int index)
    {
        return get_InnerList().get_Item(index);
    } //get_Item

    public int IndexOf(Object value) 
    {
        return get_InnerList().IndexOf(value);
    } //IndexOf

    public boolean Contains(Object value) 
    {
        return get_InnerList().Contains(value);
    } //Contains
} //ROCollection

public class SamplesCollectionBase
{
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        // Create an ArrayList.
        ArrayList myAL = new ArrayList();
        myAL.Add("red");
        myAL.Add("blue");
        myAL.Add("yellow");
        myAL.Add("green");
        myAL.Add("orange");
        myAL.Add("purple");

        // Create a new ROCollection that contains the elements in myAL.
        ROCollection myCol = new ROCollection(myAL);

        // Display the contents of the collection using for. This is the 
        // preferred method.
        Console.WriteLine("Contents of the collection (using for):");
        PrintValues1(myCol);

        // Display the contents of the collection using the enumerator.
        Console.WriteLine("Contents of the collection (using enumerator):");
        PrintValues2(myCol);

        // Display the contents of the collection using the Count property and 
        // the Item property.
        Console.WriteLine("Contents of the collection (using Count and Item):");
        PrintIndexAndValues(myCol);

        // Search the collection with Contains and IndexOf.
        Console.WriteLine("Contains yellow: {0}",
            (System.Boolean)myCol.Contains("yellow"));
        Console.WriteLine("orange is at index {0}.", 
            (Int32)myCol.IndexOf("orange"));
        Console.WriteLine();
    } //main

    // Uses the Count property and the Item property.
    public static void PrintIndexAndValues(ROCollection myCol) 
    {
        for(int i = 0; i < myCol.get_Count(); i++) {
            Console.WriteLine("   [{0}]:   {1}",(Int32)i, myCol.get_Item(i));
        } 
        Console.WriteLine();
    } //PrintIndexAndValues

    // Uses the for statement which hides the complexity of the enumerator.
    // NOTE: The for statement is the preferred way of enumerating the contents
    // of a collection.
    public static void PrintValues1(ROCollection myCol) 
    {
        for (int iCtr = 0; iCtr < myCol.get_Count(); iCtr++ ) {
            Object obj = myCol.get_Item(iCtr);
            Console.WriteLine("   {0}", obj);
        }
        Console.WriteLine();
    } //PrintValues1

    // Uses the enumerator. 
    // NOTE: The for statement is the preferred way of enumerating the
    // contents of a collection.
    public static void PrintValues2(ROCollection myCol) 
    {
        System.Collections.IEnumerator myEnumerator = myCol.GetEnumerator();
        while(myEnumerator.MoveNext()) {
            Console.WriteLine("   {0}", myEnumerator.get_Current());
        }
        Console.WriteLine();
    } //PrintValues2
} //SamplesCollectionBase

/* 
This code produces the following output.

Contents of the collection (using for):
   red
   blue
   yellow
   green
   orange
   purple

Contents of the collection (using enumerator):
   red
   blue
   yellow
   green
   orange
   purple

Contents of the collection (using Count and Item):
   [0]:   red
   [1]:   blue
   [2]:   yellow
   [3]:   green
   [4]:   orange
   [5]:   purple

Contains yellow: True
orange is at index 4.

*/

Inheritance Hierarchy

Thread Safety

Public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.

This implementation does not provide a synchronized (thread safe) wrapper for a ReadOnlyCollectionBase, but derived classes can create their own synchronized versions of the ReadOnlyCollectionBase using the SyncRoot property.

Enumerating through a collection is intrinsically not a thread-safe procedure. Even when a collection is synchronized, other threads can still modify the collection, which causes the enumerator to throw an exception. To guarantee thread safety during enumeration, you can either lock the collection during the entire enumeration or catch the exceptions resulting from changes made by other threads.

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

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

.NET Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0

Reference

ReadOnlyCollectionBase Members

System.Collections Namespace

System.Collections..::.ArrayList

CollectionBase

System.Collections.Generic

Product Families

Resources

About Microsoft

Popular Places

Popular Searches

Popular Downloads

.NET Framework

Reference