Can I name each element of an array with string variables (or something else)?

Question

I would like to give names to each element of an array.

This is my code:

string[] myArray = new string[5];

bool open = true;

while (open == true)
{
    Console.WriteLine(
    "Choose a number\n" +
    "[1] Put in 5 names\n" +
    "[2] Show all 5 names\n" +
    "[3] Close\n");

    Int32.TryParse(Console.ReadLine(), out int menu);

    switch (menu)
    {
        case 1:

            Console.WriteLine("\nWrite 5 letters\n");

            for (int i = 0; i < myArray.Length; i++)
            {
                myArray[i] = Console.ReadLine();
            }

            Console.ReadLine();
            break;

        case 2:

            Console.WriteLine("\nThese are the 5 letters:\n");

            for (int i = 0; i < myArray.Length; i++)
             {
                 Console.WriteLine(myArray[i]);
             }

             Console.ReadLine();
             break;

        case 3:

            open = false;
            break;
 }

What I want to do is so that instead of printing out the array (if I name the elements a,b,c,d,e) like this:

a
b
c
d
e

I want to put a name infront of each element, something like this:

[slot 1]: a
[slot 2]: b
[slot 3]: c
[slot 4]: d
[slot 5]: e

I also wanna be able to print out the letter by typing something like: Console.WriteLine([slot 1]);
or what ever I have to write.

Answer 1

You're looking for a Dictionary<String, String> , not an array.

var myDict = Dictionary<String, String>();

myDict["slot 1"] = "a";
myDict["slot 2"] = "b";

var x = myDict["slot 1"];

if (myDict.ContainsKey("slot 3"))
{
    Console.WriteLine(myDict["slot 3"]);
}

etc.

Answer 2

You can use Dictionary<string, string> like :

var myDic = new Dictionary<string, string>();
myDic.Add("foo", "bar");
var value = myDic["foo"];

Be careful with Dictionary, the key "foo" must be unique in the dictionary !

Otherwise, you can use List<KeyValuePair<string, string>> like :

var myList = new List<KeyValuePair<string, string>>();
myList.Add(new KeyValuePair<string, string>("foo", "bar"));
var value = myList.First(p=>p.Key == "foo");

Answer 3

With help from the other answers I managed to find a solution to my problem. This is what I did, hope it helps someone!

string[] myArray = new string[5];

var mySlot = new Dictionary<int, string>();
mySlot.Add(1, "Slot 1");
mySlot.Add(2, "Slot 2");
mySlot.Add(3, "Slot 3");
mySlot.Add(4, "Slot 4");
mySlot.Add(5, "Slot 5");

bool open = true;

while (open == true)
{

Console.WriteLine(
"Choose a number\n" +
"[1] Put in 5 letters\n" +
"[2] Show all 5 letters\n" +
"[3] Close\n");

Int32.TryParse(Console.ReadLine(), out int menu);

switch (menu)
{
    case 1:

        for (int i = 0; i < myArray.Length; i++)
        {
            Console.Write(mySlot.ElementAt(i).Value + ": ");
            myArray[i] = Console.ReadLine();
        }
        break;

    case 2:

        Console.Write("These are the 5 letters:\n\n" +
                       mySlot[1] + ": " + myArray[0] + "\n" +
                       mySlot[2] + ": " + myArray[1] + "\n" +
                       mySlot[3] + ": " + myArray[2] + "\n" +
                       mySlot[4] + ": " + myArray[3] + "\n" +
                       mySlot[5] + ": " + myArray[4]);
         Console.ReadLine();
         break;

    case 3:

        open = false;
        break;
}

If I use a,b,c,d,e to fill my array, this gets printed:

These are the 5 letters:

Slot 1: a
Slot 2: b
Slot 3: c
Slot 4: d
Slot 5: e