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  • Adding sets of items to arbitrary collections using extensions methods

    Adding sets of items to arbitrary collections using extensions methods

    Don't you just hate the fact that only some collection classes provide a possibility too add more than one item at once (such as List<T> does offer via AddRange).

    This means that often I'm writing this kind of code:

    var q = <some cool linq query>;
    foreach(var i in q)
    {
       someCollection.Add(i);
    }

    So I decided to write a little extension method to solve this problem; see below:

     

    public static class CollectionExtension
    {
        public static void AddRange<T>(this ICollection<T> target, IEnumerable<T> source)
        {
            foreach (T item in source)
            {
                 target.Add(item);
            }
        }
    }

    This allows you to write code like:

    var q = <some cool linq query>;
    someCollection.AddRange(q);

    Seems like just a bit of saving, but when you apply this throughout the code, you will find it to save quite a bit. And I think it makes the code more readable…
    Not the most advanced extension method ever 🙂 , but hey, if it helps…

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3 comments

  1. Somehow Microsoft has ‘forgotten’ a whole lot of usefull Extentsion methods in the framework. I would expect to find methods like this one in the next Framework version. Until then I will all your addition to my personal utility set.

    frankb

  2. You are now my extension method god!! 🙂

    btw, List already has an AddRange method… So the canonical sample in the first paragraph is slightly off.

    Wouter

    Wouter

  3. I agree with Frank, there’s loads more goodness to be added to linq. One of the things I like to see is the Each extension.

    public static void Each(this IEnumerable sequence,Action action)
    {
    foreach(T item in sequence)
    {
    action(T);
    }
    }

    willemm

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