ReadOnlyCollection<T>.CopyTo Method

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Copies the entire ReadOnlyCollection<T> to a compatible one-dimensional Array, starting at the specified index of the target array.

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

Syntax

'Declaration
Public Sub CopyTo ( _
    array As T(), _
    index As Integer _
)

public void CopyTo(
    T[] array,
    int index
)

Parameters

• array
  Type: array<T[]
  The one-dimensional Array that is the destination of the elements copied from ReadOnlyCollection<T>. The Array must have zero-based indexing.

• index
  Type: System.Int32
  The zero-based index in array at which copying begins.

Implements

ICollection<T>.CopyTo(array<T[], Int32)

Exceptions

Exception	Condition
ArgumentNullException	array is nulla null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic).
ArgumentOutOfRangeException	index is less than zero.
ArgumentException	The number of elements in the source ReadOnlyCollection<T> is greater than the available space from index to the end of the destination array.

Remarks

This method uses Array.Copy to copy the elements.

The elements are copied to the Array in the same order that the enumerator iterates through the ReadOnlyCollection<T>.

This method is an O(n) operation, where n is Count.

Examples

The following code example demonstrates several members of the ReadOnlyCollection<T> class. The code example creates a List<T> of strings and adds four dinosaur names to it. The code example then wraps the list in a ReadOnlyCollection<T>.

After demonstrating the Count, Contains, Item, and IList.IndexOf members, the code example shows that the ReadOnlyCollection<T> is just a wrapper for the original List<T> by adding a new item to the List<T> and displaying the contents of the ReadOnlyCollection<T>.

Finally, the code example creates an array larger than the collection and uses the CopyTo method to insert the elements of the collection into the middle of the array.

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

Public Class Example

   Public Shared Sub Demo(ByVal outputBlock As System.Windows.Controls.TextBlock)

      Dim dinosaurs As New List(Of String)

      dinosaurs.Add("Tyrannosaurus")
      dinosaurs.Add("Amargasaurus")
      dinosaurs.Add("Deinonychus")
      dinosaurs.Add("Compsognathus")

      Dim readOnlyDinosaurs As _
          New ReadOnlyCollection(Of String)(dinosaurs)

      outputBlock.Text &= vbCrLf
      For Each dinosaur As String In readOnlyDinosaurs
         outputBlock.Text &= dinosaur & vbCrLf
      Next

      outputBlock.Text &= String.Format(vbLf & "Count: {0}", _
          readOnlyDinosaurs.Count) & vbCrLf

      outputBlock.Text &= String.Format(vbLf & "Contains(""Deinonychus"" & vbCrLf: {0}", _
          readOnlyDinosaurs.Contains("Deinonychus"))

      outputBlock.Text &= String.Format(vbLf & _
          "readOnlyDinosaurs(3): {0}", readOnlyDinosaurs(3)) & vbCrLf

      outputBlock.Text &= String.Format(vbLf & "IndexOf(""Compsognathus"" & vbCrLf: {0}", _
          readOnlyDinosaurs.IndexOf("Compsognathus"))

      outputBlock.Text &= vbLf & "Insert into the wrapped List:" & vbCrLf
      outputBlock.Text &= String.Format("Insert(2, ""Oviraptor"")") & vbCrLf
      dinosaurs.Insert(2, "Oviraptor")

      outputBlock.Text &= vbCrLf
      For Each dinosaur As String In readOnlyDinosaurs
         outputBlock.Text &= dinosaur & vbCrLf
      Next

      Dim dinoArray(readOnlyDinosaurs.Count + 1) As String
      readOnlyDinosaurs.CopyTo(dinoArray, 1)

      outputBlock.Text &= String.Format(vbLf & "Copied array has {0} elements:", _
          dinoArray.Length) & vbCrLf
      For Each dinosaur As String In dinoArray
         outputBlock.Text &= String.Format("""{0}""", dinosaur) & vbCrLf
      Next

   End Sub
End Class

' This code example produces the following output:
'
'Tyrannosaurus
'Amargasaurus
'Deinonychus
'Compsognathus
'
'Count: 4
'
'Contains("Deinonychus"): True
'
'readOnlyDinosaurs(3): Compsognathus
'
'IndexOf("Compsognathus"): 3
'
'Insert into the wrapped List:
'Insert(2, "Oviraptor")
'
'Tyrannosaurus
'Amargasaurus
'Oviraptor
'Deinonychus
'Compsognathus
'
'Copied array has 7 elements:
'""
'"Tyrannosaurus"
'"Amargasaurus"
'"Oviraptor"
'"Deinonychus"
'"Compsognathus"
'""

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

public class Example
{
   public static void Demo(System.Windows.Controls.TextBlock outputBlock)
   {
      List<string> dinosaurs = new List<string>();

      dinosaurs.Add("Tyrannosaurus");
      dinosaurs.Add("Amargasaurus");
      dinosaurs.Add("Deinonychus");
      dinosaurs.Add("Compsognathus");

      ReadOnlyCollection<string> readOnlyDinosaurs =
          new ReadOnlyCollection<string>(dinosaurs);

      outputBlock.Text += "\n";
      foreach (string dinosaur in readOnlyDinosaurs)
      {
         outputBlock.Text += dinosaur + "\n";
      }

      outputBlock.Text += String.Format("\nCount: {0}", readOnlyDinosaurs.Count) + "\n";

      outputBlock.Text += String.Format("\nContains(\"Deinonychus\"): {0}",
          readOnlyDinosaurs.Contains("Deinonychus")) + "\n";

      outputBlock.Text += String.Format("\nreadOnlyDinosaurs[3]: {0}",
          readOnlyDinosaurs[3]) + "\n";

      outputBlock.Text += String.Format("\nIndexOf(\"Compsognathus\"): {0}",
          readOnlyDinosaurs.IndexOf("Compsognathus")) + "\n";

      outputBlock.Text += "\nInsert into the wrapped List:" + "\n";
      outputBlock.Text += String.Format("Insert(2, \"Oviraptor\")") + "\n";
      dinosaurs.Insert(2, "Oviraptor");

      outputBlock.Text += "\n";
      foreach (string dinosaur in readOnlyDinosaurs)
      {
         outputBlock.Text += dinosaur + "\n";
      }

      string[] dinoArray = new string[readOnlyDinosaurs.Count + 2];
      readOnlyDinosaurs.CopyTo(dinoArray, 1);

      outputBlock.Text += String.Format("\nCopied array has {0} elements:",
          dinoArray.Length) + "\n";
      foreach (string dinosaur in dinoArray)
      {
         outputBlock.Text += String.Format("\"{0}\"", dinosaur) + "\n";
      }
   }
}

/* This code example produces the following output:

Tyrannosaurus
Amargasaurus
Deinonychus
Compsognathus

Count: 4

Contains("Deinonychus"): True

readOnlyDinosaurs[3]: Compsognathus

IndexOf("Compsognathus"): 3

Insert into the wrapped List:
Insert(2, "Oviraptor")

Tyrannosaurus
Amargasaurus
Oviraptor
Deinonychus
Compsognathus

Copied array has 7 elements:
""
"Tyrannosaurus"
"Amargasaurus"
"Oviraptor"
"Deinonychus"
"Compsognathus"
""
 */

Version Information

Silverlight

Supported in: 5, 4, 3

Silverlight for Windows Phone

Supported in: Windows Phone OS 7.1, Windows Phone OS 7.0

XNA Framework

Supported in: Xbox 360, Windows Phone OS 7.0

Platforms

For a list of the operating systems and browsers that are supported by Silverlight, see Supported Operating Systems and Browsers.

See Also

Reference

ReadOnlyCollection<T> Class

System.Collections.ObjectModel Namespace