Get object in Collection by Name

I have the following classses: Item Property :String Name +10 other Properties Items ~ able to add & remove Item Objects as needed and access an Item object by using the following syntax myCollectionOfItems[0].name. My question is How can I access the item in this collection by entering the "Name" property and not the Index that it was placed in the Items Collection? I want to be able to enter myCollectionOfItems["NameOfItem"] and have it return that Item Object. I want to access it similar to a datarow where you can either enter in the index or the string name of the column you want to access. Any Ideas????

Here is some sample code to do what you want: TestCollection is derived from CollectionBase which is what I am assuming your collection class does as well. CollectionObject is a simple object which has a name and a value. The code in the Main function shows how you can access CollectionObjects in the TestCollection by name. class TestCollection : CollectionBase { public CollectionObject this[string name] { get { foreach (CollectionObject o in List) { if (o.Name == name) { return o; } } return null; } } public void Add(CollectionObject co) { List.Add(co); } static void Main(string[] args) { TestCollection collection = new TestCollection(); collection.Add(new CollectionObject("name1", "value1")); collection.Add(new CollectionObject("name2", "value2")); collection.Add(new CollectionObject("name3", "value3")); collection.Add(new CollectionObject("name4", "value4")); Console.WriteLine("Value of name1: " + collection["name1"].Value); Console.WriteLine("Value of name2:" + collection["name2"].Value); Console.WriteLine("Value of name3: " + collection["name3"].Value); Console.WriteLine("Value of name4: " + collection["name4"].Value); Console.ReadKey(); } } public class CollectionObject { private string name; private string value; public CollectionObject(string name, string value) { this.name = name; this.value = value; } public string Name { get { return name; } set { name = value; } } public string Value { get { return value; } set { this.value = value; } } }

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jemmys21y ago
Here is some sample code to do what you want: TestCollection is derived from CollectionBase which is what I am assuming your collection class does as well. CollectionObject is a simple object which has a name and a value. The code in the Main function shows how you can access CollectionObjects in the TestCollection by name. class TestCollection : CollectionBase { public CollectionObject this[string name] { get { foreach (CollectionObject o in List) { if (o.Name == name) { return o; } } return null; } } public void Add(CollectionObject co) { List.Add(co); } static void Main(string[] args) { TestCollection collection = new TestCollection(); collection.Add(new CollectionObject("name1", "value1")); collection.Add(new CollectionObject("name2", "value2")); collection.Add(new CollectionObject("name3", "value3")); collection.Add(new CollectionObject("name4", "value4")); Console.WriteLine("Value of name1: " + collection["name1"].Value); Console.WriteLine("Value of name2:" + collection["name2"].Value); Console.WriteLine("Value of name3: " + collection["name3"].Value); Console.WriteLine("Value of name4: " + collection["name4"].Value); Console.ReadKey(); } } public class CollectionObject { private string name; private string value; public CollectionObject(string name, string value) { this.name = name; this.value = value; } public string Name { get { return name; } set { name = value; } } public string Value { get { return value; } set { this.value = value; } } }