IDictionary<TKey,TValue>.ContainsKey(TKey) Method

Definition

Determines whether the IDictionary<TKey,TValue> contains an element with the specified key.

C#
public bool ContainsKey (TKey key);

Parameters

key
TKey

The key to locate in the IDictionary<TKey,TValue>.

Returns

true if the IDictionary<TKey,TValue> contains an element with the key; otherwise, false.

Exceptions

key is null.

Examples

The following code example shows how to use the ContainsKey method to test whether a key exists prior to calling the Add method. It also shows how to use the TryGetValue method, which can be a more efficient way to retrieve values if a program frequently tries key values that are not in the dictionary. Finally, it shows how to insert items using Item[] property (the indexer in C#).

This code is part of a larger example that can be compiled and executed. See System.Collections.Generic.IDictionary<TKey,TValue>.

C#
// ContainsKey can be used to test keys before inserting
// them.
if (!openWith.ContainsKey("ht"))
{
    openWith.Add("ht", "hypertrm.exe");
    Console.WriteLine("Value added for key = \"ht\": {0}",
        openWith["ht"]);
}
C#
// When a program often has to try keys that turn out not to
// be in the dictionary, TryGetValue can be a more efficient
// way to retrieve values.
string value = "";
if (openWith.TryGetValue("tif", out value))
{
    Console.WriteLine("For key = \"tif\", value = {0}.", value);
}
else
{
    Console.WriteLine("Key = \"tif\" is not found.");
}
C#
// The indexer throws an exception if the requested key is
// not in the dictionary.
try
{
    Console.WriteLine("For key = \"tif\", value = {0}.",
        openWith["tif"]);
}
catch (KeyNotFoundException)
{
    Console.WriteLine("Key = \"tif\" is not found.");
}

Remarks

Implementations can vary in how they determine equality of objects; for example, the List<T> class uses Comparer<T>.Default, whereas the Dictionary<TKey,TValue> class allows the user to specify the IComparer<T> implementation to use for comparing keys.

Implementations can vary in whether they allow key to be null.

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, 1.5, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1
UWP 10.0