ConditionalWeakTable<TKey,TValue>.GetOrCreateValue(TKey) Method
Definition
Important
Some information relates to prerelease product that may be substantially modified before it’s released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here.
Atomically searches for a specified key in the table and returns the corresponding value. If the key does not exist in the table, the method invokes the parameterless constructor of the class that represents the table's value to create a value that is bound to the specified key.
public:
TValue GetOrCreateValue(TKey key);public TValue GetOrCreateValue (TKey key);member this.GetOrCreateValue : 'Key -> 'ValuePublic Function GetOrCreateValue (key As TKey) As TValueParameters
- key
- TKey
The key to search for. key represents the object to which the property is attached.
Returns
The value that corresponds to key, if key already exists in the table; otherwise, a new value created by the parameterless constructor of the class defined by the TValue generic type parameter.
Exceptions
key is null.
The class that represents the table's value does not define a parameterless constructor.
Note: In the .NET for Windows Store apps or the Portable Class Library, catch the base class exception, MissingMemberException, instead.
Examples
The following example defines a MainClass class and a MainInfo class, which provides information about the MainClass instance. The example calls the GetOrCreateValue method to add a MainClass object and its attached MainInfo object to a ConditionalWeakTable<TKey,TValue> table. The example also illustrates calls to the Add and GetValue methods to add key/value pairs to the table, and to the TryGetValue method to retrieve the value of an existing key.
using System;
using System.Reflection;
using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
public class Example
{
string Name;
public Example(string name)
{
this.Name = name;
}
public override string ToString()
{
return this.Name;
}
}
// Define a class to contain information about each Example instance.
public class ExampleInfo
{
public string Name;
public int Methods;
public int Properties;
public override string ToString()
{
return String.Format("{0}: {1} Methods, {2} Properties",
this.Name, this.Methods, this.Properties);
}
}
public class ExampleTest
{
private static BindingFlags flags = BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Instance;
public static void Main()
{
Example ex1 = new Example("ex1");
Example ex2 = new Example("ex2");
Example ex3 = new Example("ex3");
ExampleInfo exInfo1 = new ExampleInfo();
exInfo1.Name = ex1.ToString();
exInfo1.Methods = ex1.GetType().GetMethods(flags).Length;
exInfo1.Properties = ex1.GetType().GetProperties(flags).Length;
ExampleInfo exInfo3 = new ExampleInfo();
exInfo3.Name = ex3.ToString();
exInfo3.Methods = ex3.GetType().GetMethods(flags).Length;
exInfo3.Properties = ex3.GetType().GetProperties(flags).Length;
var attached = new ConditionalWeakTable<Example, ExampleInfo>();
ExampleInfo value = null;
// Attach a property to ex1 using the Add method, then retrieve it.
attached.Add(ex1, exInfo1);
if (attached.TryGetValue(ex1, out value))
Console.WriteLine("{0}, {1}", ex1, value);
else
Console.WriteLine("{0} does not have an attached property.", ex1);
// Attempt to retrieve the value attached to ex2.
value = attached.GetValue(ex2, ExampleTest.CreateAttachedValue);
if (attached.TryGetValue(ex2, out value))
Console.WriteLine("{0}, {1}", ex2, value);
else
Console.WriteLine("{0} does not have an attached property.", ex2);
// Attempt to retrieve the value attached to ex3.
value = attached.GetOrCreateValue(ex3);
Console.WriteLine("{0}, {1}", ex3, value);
}
public static ExampleInfo CreateAttachedValue(Example ex)
{
ExampleInfo info = new ExampleInfo();
info.Name = ex.ToString();
info.Methods = ex.GetType().GetMethods(flags).Length;
info.Properties = ex.GetType().GetProperties(flags).Length;
return info;
}
}
// The example displays the following output:
// ex1, ex1: 4 Methods, 0 Properties
// ex2, ex2: 4 Methods, 0 Properties
// ex3, : 0 Methods, 0 Properties
Imports System.Reflection
Imports System.Runtime.CompilerServices
Public Class Example
Public Name As String
Public Sub New(name As String)
Me.Name = name
End Sub
Public Overrides Function ToString() As String
Return Me.Name
End Function
End Class
' Define a class to contain information about each Example instance.
Public Class ExampleInfo
Public Name As String
Public Methods As Integer
Public Properties As Integer
Public Overrides Function ToString() As String
Return String.Format("{0}: {1} Methods, {2} Properties", _
Me.Name, Me.Methods, Me.Properties)
End Function
End Class
Module TestExample
Private flags As BindingFlags = BindingFlags.Public Or BindingFlags.Instance
Public Sub Main()
Dim ex1 As New Example("ex1")
Dim ex2 As New Example("ex2")
Dim ex3 As New Example("ex3")
Dim exInfo1 As New ExampleInfo()
exInfo1.Name = ex1.ToString()
exInfo1.Methods = ex1.GetType().GetMethods(flags).Count
exInfo1.Properties = ex1.GetType().GetProperties(flags).Count
Dim exInfo3 As New ExampleInfo()
exInfo3.Name = ex3.ToString()
exInfo3.Methods = ex3.GetType().GetMethods(flags).Count
exInfo3.Properties = ex3.GetType().GetProperties(flags).Count
Dim attached As New ConditionalWeakTable(Of Example, ExampleInfo)
Dim value As ExampleInfo = Nothing
' Attach a property to ex1 using the Add method, then retrieve it.
attached.Add(ex1, exInfo1)
If attached.TryGetValue(ex1, value) Then
Console.WriteLine("{0}, {1}", ex1, value)
Else
Console.WriteLine("{0} does not have an attached property.", ex1)
End If
' Attempt to retrieve the value attached to ex2.
value = attached.GetValue(ex2, AddressOf TestExample.CreateAttachedValue)
If attached.TryGetValue(ex2, value) Then
Console.WriteLine("{0}, {1}", ex2, value)
Else
Console.WriteLine("{0} does not have an attached property.", ex2)
End If
' Atttempt to retrieve the value attached to ex3.
value = attached.GetOrCreateValue(ex3)
Console.WriteLine("{0}, {1}", ex3, value)
End Sub
Public Function CreateAttachedValue(ex As Example) As ExampleInfo
Dim info As New ExampleInfo()
info.Name = ex.ToString()
info.Methods = ex.GetType().GetMethods(flags).Count
info.Properties = ex.GetType().GetProperties(flags).Count
Return info
End Function
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
' ex1, ex1: 4 Methods, 0 Properties
' ex2, ex2: 4 Methods, 0 Properties
' ex3, : 0 Methods, 0 Properties
Remarks
If key does not exist in the table, the method adds it, along with the object that is instantiated by calling the parameterless constructor of the class defined by the TValue generic type parameter. If the TValue class has no parameterless constructor, a MissingMethodException is thrown.
This is the recommended method of retrieving an existing value or adding a new value to the ConditionalWeakTable<TKey,TValue> table if the class of the table's value defines a parameterless constructor. If it does not define a parameterless constructor, you can instead call the GetValue method, which relies on a callback-provided method to instantiate the object representing the table's value
To retrieve the value of an existing key without adding the key/value pair if the key is not found in the table, call the TryGetValue method.
