How to add values into a variable of type object in C#

Question

Now I'am this is what actual code looks like, which is debugging(running) successfully:

object attributes = new object[] { 
                  "key1=value1",
                  "key2=value2",
                  "key3=value3",
                  "key4=value4",
                  "keyN=valueN" 
};

I need to change the values sometimes, so I am using C# Dictionary which is defined as:

public Dictionary<string,string> dAttributes=new Dictionary<string,string>();

I am adding the KEY and VALUE in the dictionary one by one. But when I try to typecast(which I think is not possible) or apply any other logic, the values in the object named "attributes" are not getting in proper format.

First I tried this:

object attributes = new object[]{dAttributes};

Then I did this:

            int i=0;
            string attribueKeyAndValues;
            attribueKeyAndValues = "";
            foreach (KeyValuePair<string,string> item in dAttributes)
            {
                if(i==(dealAttributes.Count-1))
                    attribueKeyAndValues+="\"" +item.Key+"="+item.Value+"\"";
                else
                    attribueKeyAndValues += "\"" + item.Key +"="+ item.Value + "\"" + ",";
                i++;
            }

            attributes = new object[] { attribueKeyAndValues };

Now this code is not working because attribute is taking the entire string as a single value. Plus more important thing is when I debug the code and quick watch the value in attribueKeyAndValues (in Text Visualizer) is shows me "\\key=value\\","\\key=value\\" and so on.

Is there any other way to add the values in the attribute ?

Answer 1

conversion from dictionary to array

attributes = dAttributes.Select(a=>a.Key+"="+a.Value).ToArray();

here a co-variant array conversion is used ( ToArray() returns string[] , but it can be assigned to object[] variable)

but if you really need object[] , make a cast

attributes = dAttributes.Select(a=>(object)(a.Key+"="+a.Value)).ToArray();

then something like attributes[0] = 1; will work (in the 1st method that will throw run-time exception)

Answer 2

It looks like you want to copy keys and values from a dictionary into an array of strings. Your last code example creates a single string, but a small modification will fix it:

int i=0;
var attributes = new object[dAttributes.Count];
string attribueKeyAndValues = "";
foreach (KeyValuePair<string,string> item in dAttributes)
{
    result[i] = item.Key + "=" + item.Value;
    i++;
}

As an aside, you might be better off using a string array instead of an object array:

int i=0;
var attributes = new string[dAttributes.Count];
string attribueKeyAndValues = "";
foreach (KeyValuePair<string,string> item in dAttributes)
{
    result[i] = item.Key + "=" + item.Value;
    i++;
}

Finally, you can do this using LINQ:

var attributes = dAttributes.Select(item => item.Key + "=" + item.Value).ToArray();

Or, if you really need it to be an object array instead of a string array, you can do this:

var attributes = dAttributes.Select(item => item.Key + "=" + item.Value).ToArray<object>();

Answer 3

You might want to have a look at dynamic objects, where you can add whatever you want however you want (well, with the usual caveats).

You can find more about them here

• ExpandoObject Class
  • Expando Objects in C# 4.0

You can then do things like:

dynamic sampleObject = new ExpandoObject();
sampleObject.number = 10;
sampleObject.Increment = (Action)(() => { sampleObject.number++; });

Answer 4

Ok, with the help of ASH's answer I worked out it successfully with one more friend of mine,

public static class AttributeExtensions
    {
        public static object ToAttributeArray(this DAttributes dealAttr)
        {
            var objectsColl = dealAttr.dAttributes.Select(x => x.Key + "=" + x.Value);

            var objArray = objectsColl.Cast<object>();
            return  objArray.ToArray<object>();

        }
    }

Now its working properly, thanks you guys :)