How can I merge two dictionaries without getting ArgumentException on the key? - c#

I can't figure out how to keep the keys and values on a dictionary when I try to merge two dictionaries. I keep getting ArgumentException due to duplicate of key. When the key match I would just like to add the value by =+ kvp.value;
I have a list of Dictionaries where the
1st Dictionary = kvp = "jump", 2;
2ndDictionary = kvp = "jump", 4;
I like to merge them and get something like:
Dictionary = kvp = "jump", 6;
That I can later add to my list of Dictionaries
I've tried to run something I found in StackOverflow thread.
foreach (var dict in listOfDict)
{
dict.SelectMany(d => d)
.ToLookup(pair => pair.Key, pair => pair.Value)
.ToDictionary(group => group.Key, group => group.First());
}
But I keep getting.
cannot be inferred from the usage. Try specifying the type arguments
explicitly.
I want to avoid getting all keys and all values on separate lists that I later loop through to add key and value on a new dictionary.

Simplest extension to list of dictionary of double values with using Linq:
public static class ExtListOfDict {
public static Dictionary<TKey, double> SumValue1<TKey>(this List<Dictionary<TKey, double>> list)
=> list?.SelectMany(i => i).ToLookup(i => i.Key, i => i.Value).ToDictionary(i => i.Key, i => i.Sum());
}
without linq:
public static Dictionary<TKey, double> SumValue2<TKey>(this List<Dictionary<TKey, double>> list) {
if(list?.Count > 0) {
var dir = new Dictionary<TKey, double>(list[0]);
for(var i = 1; i < list.Count; i++)
foreach (var kv in list[i])
if (dir.TryGetValue(kv.Key, out double sum))
dir[kv.Key] = sum + kv.Value;
else
dir.Add(kv.Key, kv.Value);
return dir;
} else
return null;
}

If you like the LINQ approach, I would go with something like this:
var dictionaries = new List<Dictionary<string, int>>(); // this is the list of dictionaries you want to merge
var unifiedDictionary = new Dictionary<string, int>(); // this is the dictionary where you merge and add the values
foreach (var kvp in dictionaries.SelectMany(dictionary => dictionary))
{
if (unifiedDictionary.ContainsKey(kvp.Key))
{
unifiedDictionary[kvp.Key] += kvp.Value;
}
else
{
unifiedDictionary.Add(kvp.Key, kvp.Value);
}
}
However, if this is too hard to read (I am not always a fan of excessive LINQ over explicit code blocks), you can use the for-loop approach:
var dictionaries = new List<Dictionary<string, int>>(); // this is the list of dictionaries you want to merge
var unifiedDictionary = new Dictionary<string, int>(); // this is the dictionary where you merge and add the values
foreach (var dictionary in dictionaries)
{
foreach (var kvp in dictionary)
{
if (unifiedDictionary.ContainsKey(kvp.Key))
{
unifiedDictionary[kvp.Key] += kvp.Value;
}
else
{
unifiedDictionary.Add(kvp.Key, kvp.Value);
}
}
}
Hope this helps you. If further help and explanations are needed, please tell me.

Here is a solution based on the CollectionsMarshal.GetValueRefOrAddDefault API (.NET 6), and on the INumber<TSelf> interface (.NET 7):
public static Dictionary<TKey, TValue> ToSumDictionary<TKey, TValue>(
this IEnumerable<Dictionary<TKey, TValue>> dictionaries)
where TValue : struct, INumber<TValue>
{
ArgumentNullException.ThrowIfNull(dictionaries);
Dictionary<TKey, TValue> result = null;
foreach (var dictionary in dictionaries)
{
if (result is null)
{
result = new(dictionary, dictionary.Comparer);
continue;
}
if (!ReferenceEquals(dictionary.Comparer, result.Comparer))
throw new InvalidOperationException("Incompatible comparers.");
foreach (var (key, value) in dictionary)
{
ref TValue refValue = ref CollectionsMarshal
.GetValueRefOrAddDefault(result, key, out bool exists);
refValue = exists ? refValue + value : value;
}
}
result ??= new();
return result;
}
The key of each KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue> in each dictionary is hashed only once.

If you are getting an exception due to duplicate keys, then it sounds like you have duplicate keys!
Have you checked the two dictionaries before you try to merge them? Simply calling =+ kvp.value without checking to see if the first dictionary already has a key of that name is very likely to be your problem.
You need to check for an existing entry with that key, and if one is found, take whatever action is appropriate for your scenario (ie ignore, overwrite, ask the user to decide, etc)

Related

How to iterate in reverse through an OrderedDictionary

How can I iterate through an OrderedDictionary in reverse and access its keys?
Since it doesn't have any support for LINQ extensions, I have tried the following:
var orderedDictionary= new OrderedDictionary();
orderedDictionary.Add("something", someObject);
orderedDictionary.Add("another", anotherObject);
for (var dictIndex = orderedDictionary.Count - 1; dictIndex != 0; dictIndex--)
{
// It gives me the value, but how do I get the key?
// E.g., "something" and "another".
var key = orderedDictionary[dictIndex];
}
May I suggest to use SortedDictionary<K, V>? It does support LINQ and it is type safe:
var orderedDictionary = new SortedDictionary<string, string>();
orderedDictionary.Add("something", "a");
orderedDictionary.Add("another", "b");
foreach (KeyValuePair<string, string> kvp in orderedDictionary.Reverse())
{
}
Also, as Ivan Stoev pointed out in a comment, the returned items of the OrderedDictionary aren't ordered at all, so SortedDictionary is what you want.
You can lessen the complexity of this problem significantly by using a regular Dictionary (or SortedDictionary, depending on your requirements) and keep a secondary List to keep track of the keys' insertion order. You can even use a class to facilitate this organization:
public class DictionaryList<TKey, TValue>
{
private Dictionary<TKey, TValue> _dict;
private List<TKey> _list;
public TValue this[TKey key]
{
get { return _dict[key]; }
set { _dict[key] = value; }
}
public DictionaryList()
{
_dict = new Dictionary<TKey, TValue>();
_list = new List<TKey>();
}
public void Add(TKey key, TValue value)
{
_dict.Add(key, value);
_list.Add(key);
}
public IEnumerable<TValue> GetValuesReverse()
{
for (int i = _list.Count - 1; i >= 0; i--)
yield return _dict[_list[i]];
}
}
(And of course add whatever other methods you need as well.)
Since it doesn't have any support for LINQ extensions...
That's because it's a non-generic Enumerable. You can make it generic by casting it to the right type:
foreach (var entry in orderedDictionary.Cast<DictionaryEntry>().Reverse()) {
var key = entry.Key;
var value = entry.Value;
}
You can get an element at an index like this:
orderedDictionary.Cast<DictionaryEntry>().ElementAt(dictIndex);
And for getting the Key:
orderedDictionary.Cast<DictionaryEntry>().ElementAt(dictIndex).K‌​ey.ToString();
I am not bothered with the order fact. You can get the key by copying the keys to an indexable collection. Also the condition of the loop needed to be changed to dictIndex > -1;.
Please try this:
var orderedDictionary = new OrderedDictionary();
orderedDictionary.Add("something", someObject);
orderedDictionary.Add("another", anotherObject);
object[] keys = new object[orderedDictionary.Keys.Count];
orderedDictionary.Keys.CopyTo(keys, 0);
for (var dictIndex = orderedDictionary.Count-1; dictIndex > -1; dictIndex--)
{
// It gives me the value, but how do I get the key?
// E.g., "something" and "another".
var key = orderedDictionary[dictIndex];
// Get your key, e.g. "something" and "another"
var key = keys[dictIndex];
}
If you need to use an OrderdDictionary, you can always use a SortedDictionary like below.
var orderedDictionary = new SortedDictionary<int, string>();
orderedDictionary.Add(1, "Abacas");
orderedDictionary.Add(2, "Lion");
orderedDictionary.Add(3, "Zebera");
var reverseList = orderedDictionary.ToList().OrderByDescending(pair => pair.Value);
foreach (var item in reverseList)
{
Debug.Print(item.Value);
}

Asp.Net KeyValuePair<string, { } > does not contain definition or extension [duplicate]

I've seen a few different ways to iterate over a dictionary in C#. Is there a standard way?
foreach(KeyValuePair<string, string> entry in myDictionary)
{
// do something with entry.Value or entry.Key
}
If you are trying to use a generic Dictionary in C# like you would use an associative array in another language:
foreach(var item in myDictionary)
{
foo(item.Key);
bar(item.Value);
}
Or, if you only need to iterate over the collection of keys, use
foreach(var item in myDictionary.Keys)
{
foo(item);
}
And lastly, if you're only interested in the values:
foreach(var item in myDictionary.Values)
{
foo(item);
}
(Take note that the var keyword is an optional C# 3.0 and above feature, you could also use the exact type of your keys/values here)
In some cases you may need a counter that may be provided by for-loop implementation. For that, LINQ provides ElementAt which enables the following:
for (int index = 0; index < dictionary.Count; index++) {
var item = dictionary.ElementAt(index);
var itemKey = item.Key;
var itemValue = item.Value;
}
Depends on whether you're after the keys or the values...
From the MSDN Dictionary(TKey, TValue) Class description:
// When you use foreach to enumerate dictionary elements,
// the elements are retrieved as KeyValuePair objects.
Console.WriteLine();
foreach( KeyValuePair<string, string> kvp in openWith )
{
Console.WriteLine("Key = {0}, Value = {1}",
kvp.Key, kvp.Value);
}
// To get the values alone, use the Values property.
Dictionary<string, string>.ValueCollection valueColl =
openWith.Values;
// The elements of the ValueCollection are strongly typed
// with the type that was specified for dictionary values.
Console.WriteLine();
foreach( string s in valueColl )
{
Console.WriteLine("Value = {0}", s);
}
// To get the keys alone, use the Keys property.
Dictionary<string, string>.KeyCollection keyColl =
openWith.Keys;
// The elements of the KeyCollection are strongly typed
// with the type that was specified for dictionary keys.
Console.WriteLine();
foreach( string s in keyColl )
{
Console.WriteLine("Key = {0}", s);
}
Generally, asking for "the best way" without a specific context is like asking
what is the best color?
One the one hand, there are many colors and there's no best color. It depends on the need and often on taste, too.
On the other hand, there are many ways to iterate over a Dictionary in C# and there's no best way. It depends on the need and often on taste, too.
Most straightforward way
foreach (var kvp in items)
{
// key is kvp.Key
doStuff(kvp.Value)
}
If you need only the value (allows to call it item, more readable than kvp.Value).
foreach (var item in items.Values)
{
doStuff(item)
}
If you need a specific sort order
Generally, beginners are surprised about order of enumeration of a Dictionary.
LINQ provides a concise syntax that allows to specify order (and many other things), e.g.:
foreach (var kvp in items.OrderBy(kvp => kvp.Key))
{
// key is kvp.Key
doStuff(kvp.Value)
}
Again you might only need the value. LINQ also provides a concise solution to:
iterate directly on the value (allows to call it item, more readable than kvp.Value)
but sorted by the keys
Here it is:
foreach (var item in items.OrderBy(kvp => kvp.Key).Select(kvp => kvp.Value))
{
doStuff(item)
}
There are many more real-world use case you can do from these examples.
If you don't need a specific order, just stick to the "most straightforward way" (see above)!
C# 7.0 introduced Deconstructors and if you are using .NET Core 2.0+ Application, the struct KeyValuePair<> already include a Deconstruct() for you. So you can do:
var dic = new Dictionary<int, string>() { { 1, "One" }, { 2, "Two" }, { 3, "Three" } };
foreach (var (key, value) in dic) {
Console.WriteLine($"Item [{key}] = {value}");
}
//Or
foreach (var (_, value) in dic) {
Console.WriteLine($"Item [NO_ID] = {value}");
}
//Or
foreach ((int key, string value) in dic) {
Console.WriteLine($"Item [{key}] = {value}");
}
I would say foreach is the standard way, though it obviously depends on what you're looking for
foreach(var kvp in my_dictionary) {
...
}
Is that what you're looking for?
You can also try this on big dictionaries for multithreaded processing.
dictionary
.AsParallel()
.ForAll(pair =>
{
// Process pair.Key and pair.Value here
});
I appreciate this question has already had a lot of responses but I wanted to throw in a little research.
Iterating over a dictionary can be rather slow when compared with iterating over something like an array. In my tests an iteration over an array took 0.015003 seconds whereas an iteration over a dictionary (with the same number of elements) took 0.0365073 seconds that's 2.4 times as long! Although I have seen much bigger differences. For comparison a List was somewhere in between at 0.00215043 seconds.
However, that is like comparing apples and oranges. My point is that iterating over dictionaries is slow.
Dictionaries are optimised for lookups, so with that in mind I've created two methods. One simply does a foreach, the other iterates the keys then looks up.
public static string Normal(Dictionary<string, string> dictionary)
{
string value;
int count = 0;
foreach (var kvp in dictionary)
{
value = kvp.Value;
count++;
}
return "Normal";
}
This one loads the keys and iterates over them instead (I did also try pulling the keys into a string[] but the difference was negligible.
public static string Keys(Dictionary<string, string> dictionary)
{
string value;
int count = 0;
foreach (var key in dictionary.Keys)
{
value = dictionary[key];
count++;
}
return "Keys";
}
With this example the normal foreach test took 0.0310062 and the keys version took 0.2205441. Loading all the keys and iterating over all the lookups is clearly a LOT slower!
For a final test I've performed my iteration ten times to see if there are any benefits to using the keys here (by this point I was just curious):
Here's the RunTest method if that helps you visualise what's going on.
private static string RunTest<T>(T dictionary, Func<T, string> function)
{
DateTime start = DateTime.Now;
string name = null;
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
{
name = function(dictionary);
}
DateTime end = DateTime.Now;
var duration = end.Subtract(start);
return string.Format("{0} took {1} seconds", name, duration.TotalSeconds);
}
Here the normal foreach run took 0.2820564 seconds (around ten times longer than a single iteration took - as you'd expect). The iteration over the keys took 2.2249449 seconds.
Edited To Add:
Reading some of the other answers made me question what would happen if I used Dictionary instead of Dictionary. In this example the array took 0.0120024 seconds, the list 0.0185037 seconds and the dictionary 0.0465093 seconds. It's reasonable to expect that the data type makes a difference on how much slower the dictionary is.
What are my Conclusions?
Avoid iterating over a dictionary if you can, they are substantially slower than iterating over an array with the same data in it.
If you do choose to iterate over a dictionary don't try to be too clever, although slower you could do a lot worse than using the standard foreach method.
As already pointed out on this answer, KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue> implements a Deconstruct method starting on .NET Core 2.0, .NET Standard 2.1 and .NET Framework 5.0 (preview).
With this, it's possible to iterate through a dictionary in a KeyValuePair agnostic way:
var dictionary = new Dictionary<int, string>();
// ...
foreach (var (key, value) in dictionary)
{
// ...
}
There are plenty of options. My personal favorite is by KeyValuePair
Dictionary<string, object> myDictionary = new Dictionary<string, object>();
// Populate your dictionary here
foreach (KeyValuePair<string,object> kvp in myDictionary)
{
// Do some interesting things
}
You can also use the Keys and Values Collections
With .NET Framework 4.7 one can use decomposition
var fruits = new Dictionary<string, int>();
...
foreach (var (fruit, number) in fruits)
{
Console.WriteLine(fruit + ": " + number);
}
To make this code work on lower C# versions, add System.ValueTuple NuGet package and write somewhere
public static class MyExtensions
{
public static void Deconstruct<T1, T2>(this KeyValuePair<T1, T2> tuple,
out T1 key, out T2 value)
{
key = tuple.Key;
value = tuple.Value;
}
}
As of C# 7, you can deconstruct objects into variables. I believe this to be the best way to iterate over a dictionary.
Example:
Create an extension method on KeyValuePair<TKey, TVal> that deconstructs it:
public static void Deconstruct<TKey, TVal>(this KeyValuePair<TKey, TVal> pair, out TKey key, out TVal value)
{
key = pair.Key;
value = pair.Value;
}
Iterate over any Dictionary<TKey, TVal> in the following manner
// Dictionary can be of any types, just using 'int' and 'string' as examples.
Dictionary<int, string> dict = new Dictionary<int, string>();
// Deconstructor gets called here.
foreach (var (key, value) in dict)
{
Console.WriteLine($"{key} : {value}");
}
foreach is fastest and if you only iterate over ___.Values, it is also faster
Using C# 7, add this extension method to any project of your solution:
public static class IDictionaryExtensions
{
public static IEnumerable<(TKey, TValue)> Tuples<TKey, TValue>(
this IDictionary<TKey, TValue> dict)
{
foreach (KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue> kvp in dict)
yield return (kvp.Key, kvp.Value);
}
}
And use this simple syntax
foreach (var(id, value) in dict.Tuples())
{
// your code using 'id' and 'value'
}
Or this one, if you prefer
foreach ((string id, object value) in dict.Tuples())
{
// your code using 'id' and 'value'
}
In place of the traditional
foreach (KeyValuePair<string, object> kvp in dict)
{
string id = kvp.Key;
object value = kvp.Value;
// your code using 'id' and 'value'
}
The extension method transforms the KeyValuePair of your IDictionary<TKey, TValue> into a strongly typed tuple, allowing you to use this new comfortable syntax.
It converts -just- the required dictionary entries to tuples, so it does NOT converts the whole dictionary to tuples, so there are no performance concerns related to that.
There is a only minor cost calling the extension method for creating a tuple in comparison with using the KeyValuePair directly, which should NOT be an issue if you are assigning the KeyValuePair's properties Key and Value to new loop variables anyway.
In practice, this new syntax suits very well for most cases, except for low-level ultra-high performance scenarios, where you still have the option to simply not use it on that specific spot.
Check this out: MSDN Blog - New features in C# 7
Simplest form to iterate a dictionary:
foreach(var item in myDictionary)
{
Console.WriteLine(item.Key);
Console.WriteLine(item.Value);
}
I found this method in the documentation for the DictionaryBase class on MSDN:
foreach (DictionaryEntry de in myDictionary)
{
//Do some stuff with de.Value or de.Key
}
This was the only one I was able to get functioning correctly in a class that inherited from the DictionaryBase.
Sometimes if you only needs the values to be enumerated, use the dictionary's value collection:
foreach(var value in dictionary.Values)
{
// do something with entry.Value only
}
Reported by this post which states it is the fastest method:
http://alexpinsker.blogspot.hk/2010/02/c-fastest-way-to-iterate-over.html
I know this is a very old question, but I created some extension methods that might be useful:
public static void ForEach<T, U>(this Dictionary<T, U> d, Action<KeyValuePair<T, U>> a)
{
foreach (KeyValuePair<T, U> p in d) { a(p); }
}
public static void ForEach<T, U>(this Dictionary<T, U>.KeyCollection k, Action<T> a)
{
foreach (T t in k) { a(t); }
}
public static void ForEach<T, U>(this Dictionary<T, U>.ValueCollection v, Action<U> a)
{
foreach (U u in v) { a(u); }
}
This way I can write code like this:
myDictionary.ForEach(pair => Console.Write($"key: {pair.Key}, value: {pair.Value}"));
myDictionary.Keys.ForEach(key => Console.Write(key););
myDictionary.Values.ForEach(value => Console.Write(value););
If you want to use a for loop, you can do as below:
var keyList=new List<string>(dictionary.Keys);
for (int i = 0; i < keyList.Count; i++)
{
var key= keyList[i];
var value = dictionary[key];
}
I will take the advantage of .NET 4.0+ and provide an updated answer to the originally accepted one:
foreach(var entry in MyDic)
{
// do something with entry.Value or entry.Key
}
If say, you want to iterate over the values collection by default, I believe you can implement IEnumerable<>, Where T is the type of the values object in the dictionary, and "this" is a Dictionary.
public new IEnumerator<T> GetEnumerator()
{
return this.Values.GetEnumerator();
}
The standard way to iterate over a Dictionary, according to official documentation on MSDN is:
foreach (DictionaryEntry entry in myDictionary)
{
//Read entry.Key and entry.Value here
}
I wrote an extension to loop over a dictionary.
public static class DictionaryExtension
{
public static void ForEach<T1, T2>(this Dictionary<T1, T2> dictionary, Action<T1, T2> action) {
foreach(KeyValuePair<T1, T2> keyValue in dictionary) {
action(keyValue.Key, keyValue.Value);
}
}
}
Then you can call
myDictionary.ForEach((x,y) => Console.WriteLine(x + " - " + y));
Dictionary< TKey, TValue > It is a generic collection class in c# and it stores the data in the key value format.Key must be unique and it can not be null whereas value can be duplicate and null.As each item in the dictionary is treated as KeyValuePair< TKey, TValue > structure representing a key and its value. and hence we should take the element type KeyValuePair< TKey, TValue> during the iteration of element.Below is the example.
Dictionary<int, string> dict = new Dictionary<int, string>();
dict.Add(1,"One");
dict.Add(2,"Two");
dict.Add(3,"Three");
foreach (KeyValuePair<int, string> item in dict)
{
Console.WriteLine("Key: {0}, Value: {1}", item.Key, item.Value);
}
The best answer is of course: Think, if you could use a more appropriate data structure than a dictionary if you plan to iterate over it- as Vikas Gupta mentioned already in the (beginning of the) discussion under the question. But that discussion as this whole thread still lacks surprisingly good alternatives. One is:
SortedList<string, string> x = new SortedList<string, string>();
x.Add("key1", "value1");
x.Add("key2", "value2");
x["key3"] = "value3";
foreach( KeyValuePair<string, string> kvPair in x )
Console.WriteLine($"{kvPair.Key}, {kvPair.Value}");
Why it could be argued a code smell of iterating over a dictionary (e.g. by foreach(KeyValuePair<,>) ?
A basic principle of Clean Coding:
"Express intent!"
Robert C. Martin writes in "Clean Code": "Choosing names that reveal intent". Obviously naming alone is too weak. "Express (reveal) intent with every coding decision" expresses it better.
A related principle is "Principle of least surprise" (=Principle of Least Astonishment).
Why this is related to iterating over a dictionary? Choosing a dictionary expresses the intent of choosing a data structure which was made for primarily finding data by key. Nowadays there are so much alternatives in .NET, if you want to iterate through key/value pairs that you could choose something else.
Moreover: If you iterate over something, you have to reveal something about how the items are (to be) ordered and expected to be ordered!
Although the known implementations of Dictionary sort the key collection in the order of the items added-
AFAIK, Dictionary has no assured specification about ordering (has it?).
But what are the alternatives?
TLDR:
SortedList: If your collection is not getting too large, a simple solution would be to use SortedList<,> which gives you also full indexing of key/value pairs.
Microsoft has a long article about mentioning and explaining fitting collections:
Keyed collection
To mention the most important: KeyedCollection<,> and SortedDictionary<,> .
SortedDictionary<,> is a bit faster than SortedList for only inserting if it gets large, but lacks indexing and is needed only if O(log n) for inserting is preferenced over other operations. If you really need O(1) for inserting and accept slower iterating in exchange, you have to stay with simple Dictionary<,>.
Obviously there is no data structure which is the fastest for every possible operation..
Additionally there is ImmutableSortedDictionary<,>.
And if one data structure is not exactly what you need, then derivate from Dictionary<,> or even from the new ConcurrentDictionary<,> and add explicit iteration/sorting functions!
var dictionary = new Dictionary<string, int>
{
{ "Key", 12 }
};
var aggregateObjectCollection = dictionary.Select(
entry => new AggregateObject(entry.Key, entry.Value));
Just wanted to add my 2 cent, as the most answers relate to foreach-loop.
Please, take a look at the following code:
Dictionary<String, Double> myProductPrices = new Dictionary<String, Double>();
//Add some entries to the dictionary
myProductPrices.ToList().ForEach(kvP =>
{
kvP.Value *= 1.15;
Console.Writeline(String.Format("Product '{0}' has a new price: {1} $", kvp.Key, kvP.Value));
});
Altought this adds a additional call of '.ToList()', there might be a slight performance-improvement (as pointed out here foreach vs someList.Foreach(){}),
espacially when working with large Dictionaries and running in parallel is no option / won't have an effect at all.
Also, please note that you wont be able to assign values to the 'Value' property inside a foreach-loop. On the other hand, you will be able to manipulate the 'Key' as well, possibly getting you into trouble at runtime.
When you just want to "read" Keys and Values, you might also use IEnumerable.Select().
var newProductPrices = myProductPrices.Select(kvp => new { Name = kvp.Key, Price = kvp.Value * 1.15 } );
in addition to the highest ranking posts where there is a discussion between using
foreach(KeyValuePair<string, string> entry in myDictionary)
{
// do something with entry.Value or entry.Key
}
or
foreach(var entry in myDictionary)
{
// do something with entry.Value or entry.Key
}
most complete is the following because you can see the dictionary type from the initialization, kvp is KeyValuePair
var myDictionary = new Dictionary<string, string>(x);//fill dictionary with x
foreach(var kvp in myDictionary)//iterate over dictionary
{
// do something with kvp.Value or kvp.Key
}

Get Dictionary key by using the dictionary value

How to get the dictionary key by using the dictionary value?
when getting the value using the key its like this:
Dictionary<int, string> dic = new Dictionary<int, string>();
dic.Add(1, "a");
Console.WriteLine(dic[1]);
Console.ReadLine();
How to do the opposite?
A dictionary is really intended for one way lookup from Key->Value.
You can do the opposite use LINQ:
var keysWithMatchingValues = dic.Where(p => p.Value == "a").Select(p => p.Key);
foreach(var key in keysWithMatchingValues)
Console.WriteLine(key);
Realize that there may be multiple keys with the same value, so any proper search will return a collection of keys (which is why the foreach exists above).
Brute force.
int key = dic.Where(kvp => kvp.Value == "a").Select(kvp => kvp.Key).FirstOrDefault();
You can also use the following extension method to get key from dictionary by value
public static class Extensions
{
public static bool TryGetKey<K, V>(this IDictionary<K, V> instance, V value, out K key)
{
foreach (var entry in instance)
{
if (!entry.Value.Equals(value))
{
continue;
}
key = entry.Key;
return true;
}
key = default(K);
return false;
}
}
the usage is also so simple
int key = 0;
if (myDictionary.TryGetKey("twitter", out key))
{
// successfully got the key :)
}
easy way for get one key:
public static TKey GetKey<TKey,TValue>(Dictionary<TKey, TValue> dictionary, TValue Value)
{
List<TKey> KeyList = new List<TKey>(dictionary.Keys);
foreach (TKey key in KeyList)
if (dictionary[key].Equals(Value))
return key;
throw new KeyNotFoundException();
}
and for multiples keys:
public static TKey[] GetKeys<TKey, TValue>(Dictionary<TKey, TValue> dictionary, TValue Value)
{
List<TKey> KeyList = new List<TKey>(dictionary.Keys);
List<TKey> FoundKeys = new List<TKey>();
foreach (TKey key in KeyList)
if (dictionary[key].Equals(Value))
FoundKeys.Add(key);
if (FoundKeys.Count > 0)
return FoundKeys.ToArray();
throw new KeyNotFoundException();
}
I realize this is an old question but wanted to add something I thought of.
If you know there will be only one key to one value and you'll have to look up via value as well as key; you can create two separate dictionaries. One with the original key as the key and value as the value and the second with the key as the value and value as the key.
Now a side note about this; it does use up more machine resources but I'm guessing it's faster then brute forcing through LINQ and foreach.

Item duplication problem

My goal is to add a insert new value to a column where my column values are as follows
100 * 100
150 * 150
200 * 200
200 * 200
I get the following error:
Item has already been added. Key in dictionary: '200 x 200' Key being added: '200 x 200'
For next code:
SortedList sortedList = new SortedList();
foreach (ListItem listItem in ddldimension.Items)
sortedList.Add(listItem.Text, listItem.Value);
if (!sortedList.ContainsKey(CommonUtilities.GetCustomString("DefaultValues", "defaultEmbedDimension1")))
sortedList.Add(CommonUtilities.GetCustomString("DefaultValues", "defaultEmbedDimension1"), "defaultEmbedDimension1");
if (!sortedList.ContainsKey(CommonUtilities.GetCustomString("DefaultValues", "defaultEmbedDimension2")))
sortedList.Add(CommonUtilities.GetCustomString("DefaultValues", "defaultEmbedDimension2"), "defaultEmbedDimension2");
if (!sortedList.ContainsKey(CommonUtilities.GetCustomString("DefaultValues", "defaultEmbedDimension3")))
sortedList.Add(CommonUtilities.GetCustomString("DefaultValues", "defaultEmbedDimension3"), "defaultEmbedDimension3");
From the error message you're getting, and from the documentation for SortedList:
In either case, a SortedList does not allow duplicate keys.
So it would appear that a SortedList isn't the right structure for you to be using in your application. Unfortunately, you've provided insufficient information to allow me to suggest something better.
SortedList does not allow adding duplicate keys. Use List<> (along with KeyValuePair for example) instead (eg. List<KeyValuePair<string, object>>).
Here is the solution for your code:
var list = new List<KeyValuePair<string, string>>();
foreach (var item in ddldimension.Items)
{
list.Add(new KeyValuePair<string, string>(item.Text, item.Value));
}
var defaultEmbedDimension1 = CommonUtilities.GetCustomString("DefaultValues", "defaultEmbedDimension1");
int index = list.FindIndex(k => k.Key == defaultEmbedDimension1); // If there is no such Key, it will be -1. If you want to find by Value, replace k.Key by k.Value
if (index >= 0)
{
list.Add(new KeyValuePair<string, string>(defaultEmbedDimension1, "defaultEmbedDimension1"));
}
In this way, you allow to keep duplicate keys in your structure. Note you invoke the same method twice. Initialize variable instead:
string defaultEmbedDimension1 = CommonUtilities.GetCustomString("DefaultValues", "defaultEmbedDimension1");
To populate list, you can alternatively use LINQ:
var list = ddldimensions.Items.Select(item => new KeyValuePair<string, string>(item.Text, item.Value)).ToList();
Read also: C# KeyValuePair Collection Hints at Dot Net Perls.
But if you decide to disallow duplicates and gently deal with them in SortedList, you can create an extension:
public static class SortedListExtensions
{
public static bool AddIfNotContains<K, V>(this IDictionary<K, V> dictionary, K key, V value)
{
if (!dictionary.ContainsKey(key))
{
dictionary.Add(key, value);
return true;
}
return false;
}
}
And use it as I did below, without throwing exception:
var sortedList = new SortedList<string, string>();
sortedList.Add("a", "b");
sortedList.AddIfNotContains("a", "b"); // Will not be added
sortedList.AddIfNotContains("b", "b"); // Will be added

Dictionary enumeration in C#

How do I enumerate a dictionary?
Suppose I use foreach() for dictionay enumeration. I can't update a key/value pair inside foreach(). So I want some other method.
To enumerate a dictionary you either enumerate the values within it:
Dictionary<int, string> dic;
foreach(string s in dic.Values)
{
Console.WriteLine(s);
}
or the KeyValuePairs
foreach(KeyValuePair<int, string> kvp in dic)
{
Console.WriteLine("Key : " + kvp.Key.ToString() + ", Value : " + kvp.Value);
}
or the keys
foreach(int key in dic.Keys)
{
Console.WriteLine(key.ToString());
}
If you wish to update the items within the dictionary you need to do so slightly differently, because you can't update the instance while enumerating. What you'll need to do is enumerate a different collection that isn't being updated, like so:
Dictionary<int, string> newValues = new Dictionary<int, string>() { 1, "Test" };
foreach(KeyValuePair<int, string> kvp in newValues)
{
dic[kvp.Key] = kvp.Value; // will automatically add the item if it's not there
}
To remove items, do so in a similar way, enumerating the collection of items we want to remove rather than the dictionary itself.
List<int> keys = new List<int>() { 1, 3 };
foreach(int key in keys)
{
dic.Remove(key);
}
In answer to the problem "I can't update value/key inside foreach()", you cannot modify a collection while enumerating it. I would approach this by making a copy of the Keys collection:
Dictionary<int,int> dic=new Dictionary<int, int>();
//...fill the dictionary
int[] keys = dic.Keys.ToArray();
foreach (int i in keys)
{
dic.Remove(i);
}
Foreach. There are three ways: You can enumerate over the Keys property, over the Values property or over the dictionary itself which is an enumerator of KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>.
I just answered the same (updated) question for lists, so here's the same thing for dictionaries.
public static void MutateEach(this IDictionary<TKey, TValue> dict, Func<TKey, TValue, KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>> mutator)
{
var removals = new List<TKey>();
var additions = new List<KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>>();
foreach (var pair in dict)
{
var newPair = mutator(pair.Key, pair.Value);
if ((newPair.Key != pair.Key) || (newPair.Value != pair.Value))
{
removals.Add(pair.Key);
additions.Add(newPair);
}
}
foreach (var removal in removals)
dict.Remove(removal);
foreach (var addition in additions)
dict.Add(addition.Key, addition.Value);
}
Note that we have to do the updates outside the loop, so we aren't modifying the dictionary as we enumerate it. Also this detects clashes caused by making two keys the same - it will throw (due to the use of Add).
Example - make all keys lowercase and trim all values, with a Dictionary<string, string>:
myDict.MutateEach(key => key.ToLower(), value => value.Trim());
If the keys are not unique when made lowercase, this will throw.

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