C# creating an array with in an array of objects

Question

using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Text;
public class Movies
{
    public string moviename { get; set; }
    public int cast { get; set; }
    public string[] castmember { get; set; }
    public override string ToString()
    {
        return string.Format("Movie: {0} \nCast #: {1} \nCast Member: {3}",
        moviename.ToString(),
        cast,
        castmember.ToString());
    }
}
public class MovieData
{
    public int NumberOfLines = 0;
    public string UserInput;
    public void ManageData()
    {
        string[] text = File.ReadAllLines("@File Path");
        NumberOfLines = text.GetUpperBound(0);
        Movies[] movies = new Movies[NumberOfLines];
        int i = 0;
        foreach (string line in text)
        {
            movies[i] = new Movies();
            movies[i].moviename = Convert.ToString(line.Trim());
            movies[i].cast = Convert.ToInt32(line.Trim());
            int ii = movies[i].cast;
            //Here I want to create a movies[i].castmember[ii] with ii being the length


}

I am trying to store data that is basically in line format, but there is a particular set of lines that would be more logical to store in an array. How would I go about creating a movies[i].castmember array with length of ii (cast)?

Answer 1

I can notice some errors on your code.. for example you are converting the same line.Trim() value into string and Int32 but this is not the question..

I think you are asking how to create an array of ii elements..that's it:

movies[i].castmember = new string[ii];

Answer 2

Wouldn't this be a simpler approach?

var movies = File.ReadAllLines("@FilePath").Select(line =>
    new Movies
        {
            moviename = line.Trim(),
            cast = Convert.ToInt32(line.Trim()),
            castmember = new string[Convert.ToInt32(line.Trim())]
        });

---

I have a number of concerns with the code you have posted. For instance, how can the same line represent a name and define the cast size at the same time? Why does your class Movies that represents a single movie have a plural name?

---

At the risk of spoon feeding you, should your code be more like this?

using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Text;

public class Movie
{
     public string Name { get; set; }
     public IList<string> Cast { get; set; }

     public override string ToString()
     {
         var s = new StringBuilder();
         s.AppendFormat("Movie: {0}", this.Name);
         s.AppendLine();
         for (var i = 0; i < this.Cast.Count; i++)
         {
             s.AppendFormat(
                 "  Cast #:{0}, Member: {1}",
                 i + 1,
                 this.Cast[i]);
             s.AppendLine();
         }
         return s.ToString();
     }
}

public class MovieData
{
    public void MovieData(string filePath)
    {
        this.Movies = File.ReadAllLines(filePath).Select(line =>
            new Movie
            {
                // Something here that makes sense.
            });
    }

    public IList<Movie> Movies { get; private set; }
}

Answer 3

var moviesCollection = new Collection<Movie>();

var movie = new Movie();
// for each movie...
moviesCollection.Add(movie);

// if you use System.Linq you can convert any IEnumerable<T> to array
// by calling ToArray()

movies = moviesCollection.ToArray();

And you can follow the same principle for adding cast members to the movie.