Collection(T).Contains Method (System.Collections.ObjectModel)

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.NET Framework Class Library

Collection<(Of <(T>)>)..::.Contains Method

Updated: November 2007

Determines whether an element is in the Collection<(Of <(T>)>).

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

Syntax

Visual Basic (Declaration)

Public Function Contains ( _
    item As T _
) As Boolean

Visual Basic (Usage)

Dim instance As Collection
Dim item As T
Dim returnValue As Boolean

returnValue = instance.Contains(item)

public bool Contains(
    T item
)

Visual C++

public:
virtual bool Contains(
    T item
) sealed

public final boolean Contains(
    T item
)

JScript

public final function Contains(
    item : T
) : boolean

Parameters

item: Type: T
The object to locate in the Collection<(Of <(T>)>). The value can be nullNothingnullptra null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic) for reference types.

Return Value

Type: System..::.Boolean

true if item is found in the Collection<(Of <(T>)>); otherwise, false.

Implements

ICollection<(Of <(T>)>)..::.Contains(T)

Remarks

If the Collection<(Of <(T>)>) object is created using the default constructor, this method determines equality using the default equality comparer EqualityComparer<(Of <(T>)>)..::.Default for T, the type of values in the list. If type T does not implement the IEquatable<(Of <(T>)>) interface, the Equals method is used.

If the Collection object is created by passing an IList<(Of <(T>)>) object to the constructor, the Contains method will be determined by the IEqualityComparer<(Of <(T>)>) interface used by that IList<(Of <(T>)>) object.

This method performs a linear search; therefore, the average execution time is proportional to Count. That is, this method is an O(n) operation, where n is Count.

Examples

The following code example demonstrates many of the properties and methods of Collection<(Of <(T>)>). The code example creates a collection of strings, uses the Add method to add several strings, displays the Count, and lists the strings. The example uses the IndexOf method to find the index of a string and the Contains method to determine whether a string is in the collection. The example inserts a string using the Insert method and retrieves and sets strings using the default Item property (the indexer in C#). The example removes strings by string identity using the Remove method and by index using the RemoveAt method. Finally, the Clear method is used to clear all strings from the collection.

Visual Basic

Imports System
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.Collections.ObjectModel

Public Class Demo

    Public Shared Sub Main() 

        Dim dinosaurs As New Collection(Of String)

        dinosaurs.Add("Psitticosaurus")
        dinosaurs.Add("Caudipteryx")
        dinosaurs.Add("Compsognathus")
        dinosaurs.Add("Muttaburrasaurus")

        Console.WriteLine("{0} dinosaurs:", dinosaurs.Count)
        Display(dinosaurs)

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "IndexOf(""Muttaburrasaurus""): {0}", _
            dinosaurs.IndexOf("Muttaburrasaurus"))

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "Contains(""Caudipteryx""): {0}", _
            dinosaurs.Contains("Caudipteryx"))

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "Insert(2, ""Nanotyrannus"")")
        dinosaurs.Insert(2, "Nanotyrannus")
        Display(dinosaurs)

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "dinosaurs(2): {0}", dinosaurs(2))

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "dinosaurs(2) = ""Microraptor""")
        dinosaurs(2) = "Microraptor"
        Display(dinosaurs)

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "Remove(""Microraptor"")")
        dinosaurs.Remove("Microraptor")
        Display(dinosaurs)

        Console.WriteLine(vbLf & "RemoveAt(0)")
        dinosaurs.RemoveAt(0)
        Display(dinosaurs)

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

    End Sub

    Private Shared Sub Display(ByVal cs As Collection(Of String)) 
        Console.WriteLine()
        For Each item As String In cs
            Console.WriteLine(item)
        Next item
    End Sub
End Class

' This code example produces the following output:
'
'4 dinosaurs:
'
'Psitticosaurus
'Caudipteryx
'Compsognathus
'Muttaburrasaurus
'
'IndexOf("Muttaburrasaurus"): 3
'
'Contains("Caudipteryx"): True
'
'Insert(2, "Nanotyrannus")
'
'Psitticosaurus
'Caudipteryx
'Nanotyrannus
'Compsognathus
'Muttaburrasaurus
'
'dinosaurs(2): Nanotyrannus
'
'dinosaurs(2) = "Microraptor"
'
'Psitticosaurus
'Caudipteryx
'Microraptor
'Compsognathus
'Muttaburrasaurus
'
'Remove("Microraptor")
'
'Psitticosaurus
'Caudipteryx
'Compsognathus
'Muttaburrasaurus
'
'RemoveAt(0)
'
'Caudipteryx
'Compsognathus
'Muttaburrasaurus
'
'dinosaurs.Clear()
'Count: 0

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;

public class Demo
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        Collection<string> dinosaurs = new Collection<string>();

        dinosaurs.Add("Psitticosaurus");
        dinosaurs.Add("Caudipteryx");
        dinosaurs.Add("Compsognathus");
        dinosaurs.Add("Muttaburrasaurus");

        Console.WriteLine("{0} dinosaurs:", dinosaurs.Count);
        Display(dinosaurs);

        Console.WriteLine("\nIndexOf(\"Muttaburrasaurus\"): {0}", 
            dinosaurs.IndexOf("Muttaburrasaurus"));

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

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

        Console.WriteLine("\ndinosaurs[2]: {0}", dinosaurs[2]);

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

        Console.WriteLine("\nRemove(\"Microraptor\")");
        dinosaurs.Remove("Microraptor");
        Display(dinosaurs);

        Console.WriteLine("\nRemoveAt(0)");
        dinosaurs.RemoveAt(0);
        Display(dinosaurs);

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

    private static void Display(Collection<string> cs)
    {
        Console.WriteLine();
        foreach( string item in cs )
        {
            Console.WriteLine(item);
        }
    }
}

/* This code example produces the following output:

4 dinosaurs:

Psitticosaurus
Caudipteryx
Compsognathus
Muttaburrasaurus

IndexOf("Muttaburrasaurus"): 3

Contains("Caudipteryx"): True

Insert(2, "Nanotyrannus")

Psitticosaurus
Caudipteryx
Nanotyrannus
Compsognathus
Muttaburrasaurus

dinosaurs[2]: Nanotyrannus

dinosaurs[2] = "Microraptor"

Psitticosaurus
Caudipteryx
Microraptor
Compsognathus
Muttaburrasaurus

Remove("Microraptor")

Psitticosaurus
Caudipteryx
Compsognathus
Muttaburrasaurus

RemoveAt(0)

Caudipteryx
Compsognathus
Muttaburrasaurus

dinosaurs.Clear()
Count: 0
 */

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