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List T - C Tutorial For Beginners - CodeProject

This document provides a tutorial on using List<T> in C# and ASP.NET WebForms. It introduces List<T> as a generic collection that can hold objects of any type. Examples are provided to demonstrate adding string objects to a List, looping through the List to output values, and accessing specific elements by index. The use of try/catch blocks to handle errors is also explained. An HTML form is created to accept user input and retrieve a value from the List based on the input.

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12 views

List T - C Tutorial For Beginners - CodeProject

This document provides a tutorial on using List<T> in C# and ASP.NET WebForms. It introduces List<T> as a generic collection that can hold objects of any type. Examples are provided to demonstrate adding string objects to a List, looping through the List to output values, and accessing specific elements by index. The use of try/catch blocks to handle errors is also explained. An HTML form is created to accept user input and retrieve a value from the List based on the input.

Uploaded by

erp Lumens
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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List<T> - C# Tutorial for Beginners


adriancs Rate me: 3.86/5 (7 votes)
15 Dec 2022 CPOL

An introduction and demo of using C# List in ASP.NET WebForms

A C# tutorial of List for beginners. The demo is carried out in ASP.NET WebForms.

Introduction
This article is about an introduction of C# List<T> and is demonstrated in ASP.NET
WebForms.

Before Start
Creates a new project of ASP.NET WebForms, which commonly refers to the project type of
ASP.NET Web Application (.NET Framework) in Visual Studio.
Here is a YouTube video guide for installing Visual Studio and creating new project of
ASP.NET WebForms:

Install Visual Studio Community 2022 for ASP.NET WebFor…


WebFor…

Let's creates a new page. Here’s an example of initial ASP.NET front page code:

ASP.NET

<!DOCTYPE html>

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head runat="server">
<title></title>
</head>
<body>
<form id="form1" runat="server">
<div>
</div>
</form>
</body>
</html>

Insert a component of PRE block and PlaceHolder into the page:

ASP.NET

<!DOCTYPE html>

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head runat="server">
<title></title>
</head>
<body>
<form id="form1" runat="server">
<pre><asp:PlaceHolder ID="ph1" runat="server"></asp:PlaceHolder>
</pre>
</form>
</body>
</html>

Go to code behind:

Here’s the initial code behind of a new page. The C# code demonstrated in the rest of this
article will be placed within the main method of Page_Load.

C#

public partial class WebForm1 : System.Web.UI.Page


{
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{

}
}

List<T> - a List of Objects


The letter “T” in List<T> refers to Object Type.

It can be declared with any object type. For example:

string object
int object
decimal object
DateTime object
any class object
etc.

Let’s start with the string object type.

C#

List<string> lst = new List<string>();

Adding string objects into the list.

C#

List<string> lst = new List<string>();


lst.Add("book");
lst.Add("hello");
lst.Add("car");
lst.Add("part");
lst.Add("enter");
lst.Add("forest");
lst.Add("green");

Use the property of List<T>.Count to get total objects in the List:

C#

lst.Count

Perform a loop to display the content within the List.

Foreach loop
For loop

Using Foreach Loop to Get Values


You can specify the exact object TYPE in the foreach declaration, for example:

C#

foreach (string text in lst)


{ }

Or you can also use the keyword “var” as a generic declaration of implicitly typed local
variable, for example:
C#

foreach (var text in lst)


{ }

They both works the same.

Let’s continue, performing foreach loop.

C# Shrink ▲

List<string> lst = new List<string>();


lst.Add("book");
lst.Add("hello");
lst.Add("car");
lst.Add("part");
lst.Add("enter");
lst.Add("forest");
lst.Add("green");

StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();

sb.AppendLine($"Total objects in List: {lst.Count}");


sb.AppendLine("====================================");

foreach (var text in lst)


{
sb.AppendLine(text);
}

ph1.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl(sb.ToString()));

Press [F5] or run the website, here’s the output:

Total objects in List: 7


====================================
book
hello
car
part
enter
forest
green

Note:

The string can also be combined by using string operation of “+=”. For example:
C#

string output = "";


foreach (var text in lst)
{
output += text + "<br />";
}

Note:

This will also produce the same output, but however, if you are running this in large
amount of loops, using the string operation of “+=” will cause a lots of memory
usage. String object is immutable. An immutable object is an object that cannot be
changed after it has been created. Every time a text is trying to append to it, a new
string object is created in memory. This will create a lots of strings in memory.
StringBuilder object does not has this problem. It is a specialized string handling
object that can be altered and expanded on the go.

Using For Loop to Get Values


C#

for (int i = 0; i < lst.Count; i++)


{
sb.AppendLine(lst[i]);
}

There are three sections in the declaration of a For loop.

Section 1: Declare/set the initial value:

C#

int i = 0;

Section 2: Set the looping condition:

C#

i < lst.Count;

Section 3: Set the increment of value or changes of value foreach loop:

C#

i++
Loop from the first data in the List<T>:

C# Shrink ▲

List<string> lst = new List<string>();


lst.Add("book");
lst.Add("hello");
lst.Add("car");
lst.Add("part");
lst.Add("enter");
lst.Add("forest");
lst.Add("green");

StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();

sb.AppendLine($"Total objects in List: {lst.Count}");


sb.AppendLine("====================================");

for (int i = 0; i < lst.Count; i++)


{
sb.AppendLine($"Loop {i}: {lst[i]}");
}

ph1.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl(sb.ToString()));

Press [F5] or run the website, and this will produce the following output:

Total objects in List: 7


====================================
Loop 0: book
Loop 1: hello
Loop 2: car
Loop 3: part
Loop 4: enter
Loop 5: forest
Loop 6: green

Loop from the last data in the List<T>:

C#

for (int i = lst.Count - 1; i >= 0; i--)


{
sb.AppendLine(lst[i]);
}

Output:
Total objects in List: 7
====================================
Loop 6: green
Loop 5: forest
Loop 4: enter
Loop 3: part
Loop 2: car
Loop 1: hello
Loop 0: book

To Get a Specific Value in List


Get the first value:

C#

string output = lst[0];


ph1.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl(output);

Get the third value:

C#

string output = lst[2];


ph1.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl(output);

Let’s do a simple HTML form to play around. Go to the ASP.NET front page, insert the
following HTML & controls:

ASP.NET Shrink ▲

<!DOCTYPE html>

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head runat="server">
<title></title>
</head>
<body>
<form id="form1" runat="server">

Enter a number:
<asp:TextBox ID="txtNumber"
runat="server" Width="80px"></asp:TextBox>
<br />
<br />
<asp:Button ID="btGetValue" runat="server"
Text="Get Value" OnClick="btGetValue_Click" />
<br />
<br />
Output:
<hr />
<pre><asp:PlaceHolder ID="ph1"
runat="server"></asp:PlaceHolder></pre>

</form>
</body>
</html>

Go to code behind, the initial code behind will look something like this:

C#

public partial class WebForm1 : System.Web.UI.Page


{
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{

protected void btGetValue_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)


{

}
}

In the method of btGetValue_Click, add a "try" and "catch" block code:

C#

protected void btGetValue_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)


{
try
{

}
catch (Exception ex)
{

}
}

Before we continue, let's explains what is the usage of "try" and "catch" block code.

The block of "try" and "catch" are used to capture errors that might occur during real-time
operation.

If there is any error occurs in the “try” block, the operation will stop and falls down to the
“catch” block. An Exception will be produced (An exception is raised).

The Exception contains the information/description of what kind of error that has been
generated. It gives you a clue of how the error is generated.
Let’s try to make an error to see the effect.

First, declare a string object in the “try” block:

C#

try
{
string aa = "hello";
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
string err_message = ex.Message;
ph1.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl(err_message));
}

Then, converts the string into number:

C#

try
{
string aa = "hello";
int num = Convert.ToInt32(a);
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
string err_message = ex.Message;
ph1.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl(err_message));
}

Display the output to front end:

C#

try
{
string aa = "hello";
int num = Convert.ToInt32(a);
string output = num.ToString();
ph1.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl(output));
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
string err_message = ex.Message;
ph1.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl(err_message));
}

string aa is a text and it’s not a numeric characters. Therefore, it can’t be converted into
number and this will cause an error. Press [F5] to run the code and the following output will
produce:
Input string was not in a correct format.

Let’s change the string aa to numeric characters:

C#

try
{
string aa = "123";
int num = Convert.ToInt32(a);
string output = num.ToString();
ph1.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl(output));
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
string err_message = ex.Message;
ph1.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl(err_message));
}

and this will be the output:

123

Let’s continue. Declare the list of strings:

C#

List<string> lst = new List<string>();


lst.Add("book");
lst.Add("hello");
lst.Add("car");
lst.Add("part");
lst.Add("enter");
lst.Add("forest");
lst.Add("green");

try
{

}
catch (Exception ex)
{
string err_message = ex.Message;
ph1.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl(err_message));
}

Now, we’ll going to capture the input value from the form submission. The form is considered
“submitted” when the user click on the button “btGetValue” which displayed as “Get Value”
at user’s web browser.

C#

try
{
string input = Request.Form["txtNumber"] + "";
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
string err_message = ex.Message;
ph1.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl(err_message));
}

Convert the input text into number:

C#

try
{
string input = Request.Form["txtNumber"] + "";
int num = Convert.ToInt32(input);
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
string err_message = ex.Message;
ph1.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl(err_message));
}

As you can see, the value supplies by user is stored in the form input of "txtNumber" (the
textbox). If the user enters non-numeric characters, this will cause the program to encouter
error (raise Exception) and crash.

That's why a "try" & "catch" block is used to prevent the program from crashing and let the
program keeps running.

Get the value from the string and displays it to front end:

C#

try
{
string input = Request.Form["txtNumber"] + "";
int num = Convert.ToInt32(input);
string output = lst[num];
ph1.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl(output));
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
string err_message = ex.Message;
ph1.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl(err_message));
}
Press [F5] and run the website.

Getting the fifth value:

Getting the seventh value:

Getting the 100th value: (error - there is no 100th value)


Entering non-numberic characters: (error - unable to convert into number)

Process User Input Data Without Using “try” and “catch”

Instead of using “try” & “catch“, use int.TryParse() to test and convert the user input
value.

C# Shrink ▲

string input = Request.Form["txtNumber"] + "";


int number = 0;

string output = "";

if (int.TryParse(input, out number))


{
if (number >= lst.Count)
{
output = "Index is out of range";
}
else
{
output = lst[number];
}
}
else
{
output = "Invalid input. Please enter numeric value.";
}

ph1.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl(output));

Changing the Values in List<T>


To change the values, just reassign new values to the list entries:

C# Shrink ▲

StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();

List<string> lst = new List<string>();


lst.Add("book");
lst.Add("hello");
lst.Add("car");
lst.Add("part");
lst.Add("enter");
lst.Add("forest");
lst.Add("green");

sb.AppendLine("===============");
sb.AppendLine("Before");
sb.AppendLine("===============");

int count = 0;

foreach (var text in lst)


{
count++;
sb.AppendLine($"Item {count}: {text}");
}

lst[0] = "apple";
lst[1] = "orange";
lst[2] = "grape";
lst[3] = "watermelon";
lst[4] = "lemon";
lst[5] = "banana";
lst[6] = "strawberry";

sb.AppendLine();
sb.AppendLine("===============");
sb.AppendLine("After");
sb.AppendLine("===============");

count = 0;

foreach (var text in lst)


{
count++;
sb.AppendLine($"Item {count}: {text}");
}

ph1.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl(sb.ToString()));

Output:
===============
Before
===============
Item 1: book
Item 2: hello
Item 3: car
Item 4: part
Item 5: enter
Item 6: forest
Item 7: green

===============
After
===============
Item 1: apple
Item 2: orange
Item 3: grape
Item 4: watermelon
Item 5: lemon
Item 6: banana
Item 7: strawberry

Insert Item into List<T>


The Insert syntax has two parameters:

C#

List.Insert(position, value);

The first parameter will be the position of new item that will be inserted.

The second parameter is the value.

For example, insert to the first position in the List:

C#

lst.Insert(0, "house");

Insert to the third position in the list:

C#

lst.Insert(2, "house");

Remove Items from List<T>


Remove the first item:

C#

lst.Remove(0);

Remove the fourth item:

C#

lst.Remove(3);

Remove item with exact values:

C#

lst.Remove("car");

To Check The Existence of Value


C#

if (lst.Contains("book"))
{
sb.AppendLine("Yes, book exists");
}
else
{
sb.AppendLine("No, book is not existed")l
}

Example of List of int/decimal Object


Lets try the List of int object:

C#

List<int> lst = new List<int>();


lst.Add(23);
lst.Add(234);
lst.Add(85);
lst.Add(933);
lst.Add(123);
lst.Add(345);

int total = 0;

foreach(var num in lst)


{
total += num;
}

string output = total.ToString();

ph1.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl(output));

Output:

1743

Example 2: List of decimal object

C#

List<decimal> lst = new List<decimal>();


lst.Add(34.234m);
lst.Add(234.88m);
lst.Add(8.15m);
lst.Add(933.66m);
lst.Add(123.1m);
lst.Add(345.09m);

decimal total = 10000m;

foreach (var num in lst)


{
total -= num;
}

string output = total.ToString();

ph1.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl(output));

Output:

8320.886

Declaring the List of Class Object


Let’s assume that the following class object is created:

C#

class Member
{
public string Name { get; set; }
public string Tel { get; set; }
public string Location { get; set; }
}

Declaring List of Member Object and display the name by using Foreach Loop:

C# Shrink ▲

Member m1 = new Member();


m1.Name = "Sam";
m1.Tel = "2938273645";
m1.Location = "New York";

Member m2 = new Member()


{
Name = "Rose",
Tel = "9874563789",
Location = "Los Angelos"
};

Member m3 = new Member();


m3.Name = "Smith";
m3.Tel = "2348734985";
m3.Location = "Jacksonville";

List<Member> lst = new List<Member>();


lst.Add(m1);
lst.Add(m2);
lst.Add(m3);

StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();

int count = 0;

foreach (var m in lst)


{
count++;
sb.AppendLine($"No. {count}: {m.Name}, Location: {m.Location}");
}

ph1.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl(sb.ToString()));

Output:

No. 1: Sam, Location: New York


No. 2: Rose, Location: Los Angelos
No. 3: Smith, Location: Jacksonville

Let’s build a “Get Members” form that display the HTML table of Members’ Details. Build the
ASP.NET front page as follows:
ASP.NET Shrink ▲

<!DOCTYPE html>

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head runat="server">
<title></title>
<style type="text/css">
table {
border-collapse: collapse;
}
th {
padding: 10px;
color: white;
background: #646464;
border-right: 1px solid #a7a7a7;
}
td {
border: 1px solid #a8a8a8;
padding: 10px;
}
tr:nth-child(odd){
background: #e6e6e6;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<form id="form1" runat="server">

<asp:Button ID="btGetMembers" runat="server" Text="Get Members"


OnClick="btGetMembers_Click" />

<hr />

<asp:PlaceHolder ID="ph1" runat="server"></asp:PlaceHolder>

</form>
</body>
</html>

At the code behind:

C# Shrink ▲

protected void btGetMembers_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)


{
Member m1 = new Member();
m1.Name = "Sam";
m1.Tel = "2938273645";
m1.Location = "New York";

Member m2 = new Member()


{
Name = "Rose",
Tel = "9874563789",
Location = "Los Angelos"
};

Member m3 = new Member();


m3.Name = "Smith";
m3.Tel = "2348734985";
m3.Location = "Jacksonville";

List<Member> lst = new List<Member>();


lst.Add(m1);
lst.Add(m2);
lst.Add(m3);

StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();

sb.Append($@"
Total Members: {lst.Count}

<br /><br />

<table>
<tr>
<th>No</th>
<th>Member's Name</th>
<th>Tel</th>
<th>Location</th>
</tr>
");

int count = 0;

foreach (var m in lst)


{
count++;
sb.Append($@"
<tr>
<td>{count}</td>
<td>{m.Name}</td>
<td>{m.Tel}</td>
<td>{m.Location}</td>
</tr>
");
}

sb.Append("</table>");

ph1.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl(sb.ToString()));
}

The output:
Sorting List<T> (Rearrange the List in Specific Orders)
This article will introduce two methods:

Method 1: By using “List<T>.Sort()“


Method 2: By using “LINQ“

Method 1: By using “List<T>.Sort()”

Sorting a non-class object type list:

C#

// default ascending order


lst.Sort()

// default descending order


lst.Reverse();

// ascending order - manually compare


lst.Sort((x, y) => x.CompareTo(y));

// descending order - manually compare


lst.Sort((x, y) => y.CompareTo(x));

Class object sort by one field, i.e., Name (ascending order):

C#

// manually compare
lst.Sort((x, y) => x.Name.CompareTo(y.Name));

// using delegate
lst.Sort(delegate (Member x, Member y) {
return x.Name.CompareTo(y.Name);
});

Sort by one element, i.e., Name (descending order):

C#

lst.Sort((x, y) => y.Name.CompareTo(n.Name));

// using delegate
lst.Sort(delegate (Member x, Member y) {
return y.Name.CompareTo(x.Name);
});

Sort by two elements, i.e., Name and Location (both ascending order):

C#

lst.Sort(delegate (Member x, Member y) {


int a = x.Name.CompareTo(y.Name);
if (a == 0)
a = x.Location.CompareTo(y.Location);
return a;
});

Method 2: By using “LINQ”

Available common LINQ sorting commands:

OrderBy()
OrderByDescending()
ThenBy()
ThenByDescending()
Sort by one element, i.e., Name (ascending order):

C#

lst.OrderBy(a => a.Name);

Sort by one element, i.e., Name (descending order):

C#

lst.OrderByDescending(a => a.Name);

Sort by two elements, i.e., Name and Location (both ascending order):

C#

lst.OrderBy(a => a.Name).ThenBy(a => a.Location);

History
16th December, 2022: Initial version
This article was originally posted at https://adriancs.com/c-sharp/491/c-tutorial-list

License
This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code
Project Open License (CPOL)

Written By

adriancs
Software Developer
Other Other

Programming is an art.

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