Tell me more ×
Stack Overflow is a question and answer site for professional and enthusiast programmers. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 2 down vote favorite

I have been creating arrays for different controls as follows, e.g:

private TextBox[] Array_TextBoxes;
private CheckBox[] Array_CheckBoxes;
private RadioButtonList[] Array_radioButton;

Array_TextBoxes= new TextBox[4];
Array_CheckBoxes= new CheckBox[5];
Array_radioButton= new RadioButtonList[10];

Is there any ways of creating them so that I do not need to specify the size/length? I.e. is it possible to make these control arrays variable sized?

Thanks!

share|improve this question
3  
System.Collections.Generic.List<T> - msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/… – Tim Medora Apr 16 at 23:17

3 Answers

up vote 5 down vote

Arrays must be assigned a length, if you want to allow for any number of elements use the List class, like this

List<TextBox> textBoxList=new List<TextBox>();

and add controls into this collection

 textBoxList.Add(new TextBox());
share|improve this answer
up vote 2 down vote

You could start them as lists then convert to array:

Add stuff to these using .Add:

List<TextBox> _TextBoxes = new List<TextBox>();
List<CheckBox> _CheckBoxes =  new List<CheckBox>();
List<RadioButtonList> _RadioButton = new List<RadioButtonList>();

Then convert to arrays:

TextBox[] Array_TextBoxes = List<TextBox> _TextBoxes.ToArray();
CheckBox[] Array_CheckBoxes = List<CheckBox> _CheckBoxes.ToArray();
RadioButtonList[] Array_radioButton = List<RadioButtonList> _radioButton.ToArray();

Or just use lists...

share|improve this answer
up vote 2 down vote

List<>, as others have suggested, is a good idea, but it does have some overhead. You can also do this, if you "use" System.Linq, and assume that the controls variable points to a collection of the controls:

Array_TextBoxes = controls.OfType<TextBox>().ToArray();

Furthermore, if you prefer to have lists instead of arrays, you can do that too:

List<TextBox> textBoxes = controls.OfType<TextBox>().ToList();

Finally, it's often considered poor style to use prefixes like "Array_" in your field and variable names.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.