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when i want to print IEnumerable to console screen then i'm getting "System.Collections.Generic.List`1[Linq_1.Objects.UserObject]"

I'm trying to learn Ienumerable with linq.
What I want to do is to print the userlist after filtering it with linq. But I am encountering such a console screen.
Main Code:
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
LinqExtensions<UserObject> linq = new LinqExtensions<UserObject>();
var users = new List<UserObject>()
{
new UserObject()
{
Id=1,
FirstName="xx",
LastName="yy",
EmailAdress="zz#gmail.com",
CreateDateTime=DateTime.Now
},
new UserObject()
{
Id=2,
FirstName="aa",
LastName="bb",
EmailAdress="cc#gmail.com",
CreateDateTime=DateTime.Now
}
};
var userList = linq.Where_EqualsEvenID(users);
Console.WriteLine(userList);
Console.ReadLine();
}
}
And Extensions Code:
public class LinqExtensions <T> where T:UserObject
{
public IEnumerable<T> Where_EqualsEvenID(IEnumerable<T> TTypeIEnum)
{
return TTypeIEnum.Where(p => p.Id % 2 != 0).ToList();
}
public IEnumerable<T> Where_OddEvenID(IEnumerable<T> TTypeIEnum)
{
return TTypeIEnum.Where(p => p.Id % 2 != 0).ToList();
}
public IEnumerable<T> Where_EqualsId(IEnumerable<T> TTypeIEnum,int id)
{
return TTypeIEnum.Where(p=>p.Id==id).ToList();
}
}
Console ScreenShot
Console Message:
System.Collections.Generic.List`1[Linq_1.Objects.UserObject]
Help me please, thanks a lot.

Why are you getting the type text instead of values?
Console.WriteLine(Object) writes the text representation of an object.
To represent the object into text, it calls .ToString() method.
If it is not overridden in your class, then it invokes .ToString() default implementation.
This default implementation is nothing but returning the string representation of the current object
How to fix your issue?
To fix this issue, you override ToString() within the UserObject class.
public class UserObject
{
...
public override string ToString()
{
//You can include fields as per your need.
return $"{this.FirstName} {this.LastName}";
}
}
Now while printing the list of UserObject, you need to iterate over each object of UserObject and print the details.
foreach(var userObj in userList)
Console.WriteLine(userObj);
You can also use string.Join(),
Console.WriteLine(string.Join(Environment.NewLine, userList));
This will print
xx yy
aa bb

You have to loop IEnumerable collection and use Json serialized(add Newtonsoft.Json extension to your project) to convert and print object in console.
Check below code
using Newtonsoft.Json;
namespace SampleExample
{
internal class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
LinqExtensions<UserObject> linq = new LinqExtensions<UserObject>();
var users = new List<UserObject>()
{
new UserObject()
{
Id=1,
FirstName="xx",
LastName="yy",
EmailAdress="zz#gmail.com",
CreateDateTime=DateTime.Now
},
new UserObject()
{
Id=2,
FirstName="aa",
LastName="bb",
EmailAdress="cc#gmail.com",
CreateDateTime=DateTime.Now
},
new UserObject()
{
Id=3,
FirstName="zak",
LastName="tos",
EmailAdress="zak#gmail.com",
CreateDateTime=DateTime.Now
},
new UserObject()
{
Id=4,
FirstName="Michael",
LastName="J",
EmailAdress="mj#gmail.com",
CreateDateTime=DateTime.Now
}
};
var userList = linq.Where_EqualsEvenID(users);
foreach (var item in userList)
{
Console.WriteLine(JsonConvert.SerializeObject(item, Formatting.Indented));
}
Console.ReadLine();
}
public class LinqExtensions<T> where T : UserObject
{
public IEnumerable<T> Where_EqualsEvenID(IEnumerable<T> TTypeIEnum)
{
return TTypeIEnum.Where(p => p.Id % 2 == 0).ToList();
}
public IEnumerable<T> Where_OddEvenID(IEnumerable<T> TTypeIEnum)
{
return TTypeIEnum.Where(p => p.Id % 2 != 0).ToList();
}
public IEnumerable<T> Where_EqualsId(IEnumerable<T> TTypeIEnum, int id)
{
return TTypeIEnum.Where(p => p.Id == id).ToList();
}
}
public static void localmethod1(object a, object b)
{
Console.WriteLine("Local method." + a + "-" + b);
}
public static void DisplayNumbers(int min, int max)
{
Console.WriteLine("DisplayNumbers :" + (min + max));
}
}
public class UserObject
{
public int Id { get; set; }
public string FirstName { get; set; }
public string LastName { get; set; }
public string EmailAdress { get; set; }
public DateTime CreateDateTime { get; set; } = DateTime.Now;
}
}
Result
enter image description here

sorting a generic list from within a generic container class

I need to sort a list by any one of its properties, but i dont know which of these properties it will specifically be sorted on. The Main method below.
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Things<Something> something = new Things<Something>();
something.Add(new Something
{ Thing = "Apartment", Price = 1500000 });
something.Add(new Something
{ Thing = "Bed", Price = 10000 });
something.Add(new Something
{ Thing = "Lamp", Price = 600 });
something.Add(new Something
{ Thing = "Car", Price = 5000000 });
Console.WriteLine("\n\tStuff sorted by description");
something = something.SelectionSort("Thing");
foreach (Something thing in something)
Console.WriteLine("\t" + thing);
Console.WriteLine("\n\tStock items sorted by value");
something = something.SelectionSort("Value");
foreach (Something thing in something)
Console.WriteLine("\t" + thing);
Console.Write("\n\tPress any key to exit ...");
Console.ReadKey();
}
I have a struct
public struct Something
{
public string Thing { get; set; }
public decimal Price { get; set; }
}
And a generic container class called things
public class Things<T> : IEnumerable<T>
{
private List<T> lstItems;
public int Count { get { return lstItems.Count; } }
public Things() { lstItems = new List<T>(); }
public Things(List<T> items_) { lstItems = new List<T>(items_); }
public void Add(T item)
{
lstItems.Add(item);
}
public T this[int i]
{
get { return lstItems[i]; }
set { lstItems[i] = value; }
}
IEnumerator IEnumerable.GetEnumerator()
{
throw new System.NotImplementedException();
}
public IEnumerator<T> GetEnumerator()
{
foreach (T item in lstItems)
yield return item;
}
}
An extensions class extends the generic container class
public static class ExtensionsClass
{
private static string SortFiield { get; set; }
private static object GetProperty<T>(T thing, string nameofProp)
{
return thing.GetType().GetProperty(nameofProp).GetValue(thing, null);
}
private static int Compare<T>(T x, T y)
{
IComparable propX = (IComparable)GetProperty(x, SortFiield);
IComparable propY = (IComparable)GetProperty(y, SortFiield);
return propX.CompareTo(propY);
}
public static Things<T> SelectionSort<T>(this Things<T> things, string SORTFIELD)
{
List<T> lsstt = new List<T>(things);
int iIndex;
T temporary;
SortFiield = SORTFIELD;
for (int i = 0; i < lsstt.Count - 1; i++)
{
iIndex = i;
for (int j = i + 1; j < lsstt.Count; j++)
{
string first = GetProperty(lsstt[j], SortFiield).ToString();
string second = GetProperty(lsstt[iIndex], SortFiield).ToString();
if (Compare(first, second) < 0)
iIndex = j;
}
temporary = lsstt[i];
lsstt[i] = lsstt[iIndex];
lsstt[iIndex] = temporary;
}
return new Things<T>(lsstt);
}
}
The problem i am encountering is that get property in the extension class returns null, but i know that the object i am trying to return exists. It is found by the "String first = ...." line but when getproperty is called from the Compare method then it returns null.

You are passing "first", "second" to Compare. In your case both of them are strings and not objects, you need to pass "lsstt[j]" and "lsstt[iIndex]" to it.
if (Compare(lsstt[j], lsstt[iIndex]) < 0)
iIndex = j;

Recursively create a tree hierarchy off an array of strings

I have an array of strings separated by "!". I am trying to break that string up and create a tree hierarchy recursively in my custom class called PivotGroup. For example, what I am aiming at is to break up string array
string[] paths = new string[] {
"ROOT!ZZZ!AAA!EEE!15712",
"ROOT!ZZZ!AAA!EEE!15722",
"ROOT!ZZZ!AAA!EEE!13891"}
Into the PivotGroup class such as PivotGroup contains ChildGroups[] that embed the array strings.
So for example:
PivotGroup pgGroup = new PivotGroup();
pgGroup.ChildGroups[0] = PivotGroup[]; // Key:Book Level 3 Value: "AAA"
Now within Book Level 3 ChildGroups I need to set Book Level 4 which value is "EEE" and within the ChildGroups of "EEE" I would need to create another childGroup array which size in the case would be 3 called Book Level 5 and set another PivotGroup for each of following 15712, 15722, 13891
Here is my PivotGroup Class and embedded class Objects:
public class PivotGroup
{
public PivotGroup() { }
public PivotGroup(PivotGroupKey groupKey, PivotRow data, PivotGroup[] childGroups, bool leaf, int groupLevel)
{
GroupKey = groupKey;
Data = data;
ChildGroups = childGroups;
Leaf = leaf;
GroupLevel = groupLevel;
}
public PivotGroupKey GroupKey { get; private set; }
public PivotRow Data { get; private set; }
public PivotGroup[] ChildGroups { get; set; }
public bool Leaf { get; private set; }
public int GroupLevel { get; private set; }
public override string ToString()
{
return GroupKey + ", GroupLevel: " + GroupLevel + ", Children: " +
ChildGroups.Length + (Leaf ? " (Leaf)" : "");
}
}
public class PivotGroupKey
{
public PivotGroupKey()
{
}
public PivotGroupKey(string keyGroup, string keyValue)
{
if(keyGroup != null)
KeyGroup = string.Intern(keyGroup);
if (keyValue != null)
KeyValue = string.Intern(keyValue);
}
public string KeyGroup { get; private set; }
public string KeyValue { get; private set; }
public override string ToString()
{
return KeyGroup + ": " + KeyValue;
}
}
public class PivotRow
{
public PivotRow()
{
}
public PivotRow(string key, params object[] data) : this(key, true, data) { }
public PivotRow(string key, bool entitled, params object[] data)
{
Data = data;
Key = null;
Entitled = entitled;
}
public object[] Data { get; private set; }
public bool Entitled { get; private set; }
public string Key { get { return null; } set { } }
}
Main program I tried:
public class BookLevels
{
public string Root { get; set; }
public string BookLevel2 { get; set; }
public string BookLevel3 { get; set; }
public string BookLevel4 { get; set; }
public string BookLevel5 { get; set; }
}
class Program
{
static void BuildTree(string[] paths)
{
var BookPaths = paths.Select(x => x.Split('!'))
.Select(x => new BookLevels
{
Root = x[0],
BookLevel2 = x[1],
BookLevel3 = x[2],
BookLevel4 = x[3],
BookLevel5 = x[4]
}).GroupBy(z => new { z.BookLevel3, z.BookLevel4 }).ToArray();
var BookLevel3Cnt = BookPaths.Select(q => q.Key.BookLevel3).Count();
PivotGroup root = new PivotGroup(
new PivotGroupKey("Total", ""),
new PivotRow(null, new string[8]),
new PivotGroup[BookLevel3Cnt], false, 0);
foreach (var booklevel3 in BookPaths)
{
AddChildren(root, booklevel3);
}
}
private static void AddChildren(PivotGroup root, IGrouping<object, BookLevels> booklevel, int index = 0)
{
root.ChildGroups[index] = new PivotGroup(
new PivotGroupKey("Book Level " + (index + 3).ToString(), booklevel.Key.ToString()),
new PivotRow(null, new string[8]),
AddChildren(root, booklevel[index], index + 1), false, 0);
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
string[] paths = new string[] {
"ROOT!ZZZ!AAA!EEE!15712",
"ROOT!ZZZ!AAA!EEE!15722",
"ROOT!ZZZ!AAA!EEE!13891",
"ROOT!ZZZ!AAA!DDD!15712",
"ROOT!ZZZ!AAA!DDD!15722",
"ROOT!ZZZ!AAA!DDD!13891",
"ROOT!ZZZ!BBB!DDD!15812",
"ROOT!ZZZ!BBB!DDD!15822",
"ROOT!ZZZ!BBB!DDD!13891",
};
BuildTree(paths);
Console.WriteLine();
Console.ReadLine();
}
I think my issue might be the way I am creating the Linq statement that breaks up the string, since I'm not sure how to progress thru it recursively.

I'm not sure what goes into which property. Also, for sake of simplicity and to be able to concentrate on the recursive algorithm, I redefine the group class like this (it does not mean that you have to change your class, instead, adapt my algorithm):
public class PivotGroup
{
public string Key { get; set; }
public List<PivotGroup> ChildGroups { get; } = new List<PivotGroup>();
public override string ToString() => Key; // Makes debugging easier.
}
The idea is that the values of the path go into the key. I made ChildGroups a list to be able to add children successively. My BuildTree returns the root
static PivotGroup BuildTree(string[] paths)
{
var root = new PivotGroup { Key = "ROOT" };
foreach (string path in paths) {
AddChildren(root, path.Split('!').Skip(1).ToList());
}
return root;
}
The recursive part goes into AddChildren. I convert the path into a List<string> to be able to remove the added part. AddChildren assumes that the first item in path is the first child to be added.
static void AddChildren(PivotGroup group, List<string> path)
{
string key = path[0];
int index = group.ChildGroups.FindIndex(g => g.Key == key);
PivotGroup child;
if (index >= 0) { // A child with this key exists.
child = group.ChildGroups[index]; // Select this existing child.
} else { // This key is missing. Add a new child.
child = new PivotGroup { Key = key };
group.ChildGroups.Add(child);
}
if (path.Count > 1) {
path.RemoveAt(0); // Remove the added child key and add the rest recursively.
AddChildren(child, path);
}
}
We add children by walking down the tree and adding new children if necessary.
This prints the tree recursively:
private static void PrintTree(PivotGroup group, int level)
{
Console.WriteLine(new String(' ', 2 * level) + group.Key);
foreach (PivotGroup child in group.ChildGroups) {
PrintTree(child, level + 1);
}
}
string[] paths = new string[] {
"ROOT!ZZZ!AAA!EEE!15712",
...
};
PivotGroup root = BuildTree(paths);
PrintTree(root, 0);
Console.ReadKey();
We could also use a loop instead of doing a recursion, since we add one branch at a time:
static PivotGroup BuildTree(string[] paths)
{
var root = new PivotGroup { Key = "ROOT" };
foreach (string path in paths) {
PivotGroup group = root;
string[] pathElements = path.Split('!');
for (int i = 1; i < pathElements.Length; i++) { // Element [0] is ROOT, we skip it.
string key = pathElements[i];
int index = group.ChildGroups.FindIndex(g => g.Key == key);
PivotGroup child;
if (index >= 0) { // A child with this key exists.
child = group.ChildGroups[index]; // Select this existing child.
} else { // This key is missing. Add a new child.
child = new PivotGroup { Key = key };
group.ChildGroups.Add(child);
}
group = child;
}
}
return root;
}
List<T>.FindIndex is inefficient for large lists. If you have large data sets and the order does not matter, switch to Dictionary<string, PivotGroup>. If you need the data to be sorted, use SortedDictionary<string, PivotGroup>.

Here is some simple recursive code :
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
namespace ConsoleApplication1
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
string[] paths = new string[] {
"ROOT!ZZZ!AAA!EEE!15712",
"ROOT!ZZZ!AAA!EEE!15722",
"ROOT!ZZZ!AAA!EEE!13891"};
List<List<string>> inputData = paths.Select(x => x.Split(new char[] {'!'}).ToList()).ToList();
Node root = new Node();
Node.ParseTree(root, inputData);
}
}
public class Node
{
public string name { get; set; }
public List<Node> children { get; set; }
public static void ParseTree(Node parent, List<List<string>> inputData)
{
parent.name = inputData.First().FirstOrDefault();
var groups = inputData.Select(x => x.Skip(1)).GroupBy(x => x.Take(1).FirstOrDefault());
foreach (var group in groups)
{
if (group.Key != null)
{
if (parent.children == null) parent.children = new List<Node>();
Node newNode = new Node();
parent.children.Add(newNode);
ParseTree(newNode, group.Select(x => x.Select(y => y).ToList()).ToList());
}
}
}
}
}

How to transform list of hierarchyid into a binary tree

I am working on a multi-level marketing (binary) which looks like this:
(but the binary tree is not required to be perfect. A node can have 0-2 child)
My problem is the data that I fetch from the database is flat list.
Notice that I am using hierarchyid (sql server 2014)
Basically the TextNode column is like a breadcrumb.
every slash / represents a level.
If I have TextNode of /1/ as root. then every node that starts with /1/ belongs to that root which are /1/, /1/1/ and /1/1/1/ (the root node is included which will be the level 0)
I've tried the accepted answer in this question but its not working.
How can I transform the flatlist to a Binary Tree so that I can easily traverse and display it on a screen?
Im using C#, ASP MVC 5, SQL Server 2014 if it matters.

I implement exactly this code According to Alex implementation but as is mentioned in some case it didn't work correctly .. have a look to my Image and my code (which copied from Alex post) [data in the database are correct but in tree view seems some problems ]
public class Row : IRow<string>
{
public string TextNode { get; }
public string Value { get; }
public long Id { get; }
public string FIN { get; }
public Row(string textNode, string userName, long id, string fin)
{
FIN = fin;
Id = id;
TextNode = textNode;
Value = userName;
}
}
public interface IRow<out T>
{
string TextNode { get; }
long Id { get; }
string FIN { get; }
T Value { get; }
}
public class TreeNode<T>
{
private struct NodeDescriptor
{
public int Level { get; }
public int ParentIndex { get; }
public NodeDescriptor(IRow<T> row)
{
var split = row.TextNode.Split(new[] { "/" }, StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries);
Level = split.Length;
ParentIndex = split.Length > 1 ? int.Parse(split[split.Length - 2]) - 1 : 0;
}
}
public T title { get; }
public long Id { get; }
public string FIN { get; }
public List<TreeNode<T>> children { get; }
private TreeNode(T value, long id, string fin)
{
Id = id;
FIN = fin;
title = value;
children = new List<TreeNode<T>>();
}
public static TreeNode<T> Parse(IReadOnlyList<IRow<T>> rows)
{
if (rows.Count == 0)
return null;
var result = new TreeNode<T>(rows[0].Value, rows[0].Id, rows[0].FIN);
FillParents(new[] { result }, rows, 1, 1);
return result;
}
private static void FillParents(IList<TreeNode<T>> parents, IReadOnlyList<IRow<T>> rows, int index, int currentLevel)
{
var result = new List<TreeNode<T>>();
for (int i = index; i < rows.Count; i++)
{
var descriptor = new NodeDescriptor(rows[i]);
if (descriptor.Level != currentLevel)
{
FillParents(result, rows, i, descriptor.Level);
return;
}
var treeNode = new TreeNode<T>(rows[i].Value, rows[i].Id, rows[i].FIN);
parents[descriptor.ParentIndex].children.Add(treeNode);
result.Add(treeNode);
}
}
}
g
this is also my JSON output for more information :
{"title":"Earth","Id":32,"FIN":"FIN","children":[{"title":"Europe","Id":33,"FIN":"FIN001","children":[{"title":"France","Id":35,"FIN":"FIN001001","children":[{"title":"Paris","Id":36,"FIN":"FIN001001001","children":[]},{"title":"Brasilia","Id":41,"FIN":"FIN002001001","children":[]},{"title":"Bahia","Id":42,"FIN":"FIN002001002","children":[]}]},{"title":"Spain","Id":38,"FIN":"FIN001002","children":[{"title":"Madrid","Id":37,"FIN":"FIN001002001","children":[{"title":"Salvador","Id":43,"FIN":"FIN002001002001","children":[]}]}]},{"title":"Italy","Id":45,"FIN":"FIN001003","children":[]},{"title":"Germany","Id":48,"FIN":"FIN001004","children":[]},{"title":"test","Id":10049,"FIN":"FIN001005","children":[]}]},{"title":"South America","Id":34,"FIN":"FIN002","children":[{"title":"Brazil","Id":40,"FIN":"FIN002001","children":[{"title":"Morano","Id":47,"FIN":"FIN001003001","children":[]}]}]},{"title":"Antarctica","Id":39,"FIN":"FIN003","children":[{"title":"McMurdo Station","Id":44,"FIN":"FIN003001","children":[]}]}]}

Here is a very simple implementation (assuming that Nodes are in the right order), which may be enhanced in multiple ways
public interface IRow<out T>
{
string TextNode { get; }
T Value { get; }
}
public class TreeNode<T>
{
private struct NodeDescriptor
{
public int Level { get; }
public int ParentIndex { get; }
public NodeDescriptor(IRow<T> row)
{
var split = row.TextNode.Split(new [] {"/"}, StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries);
Level = split.Length;
ParentIndex = split.Length > 1 ? int.Parse(split[split.Length - 2]) - 1 : 0;
}
}
public T Value { get; }
public List<TreeNode<T>> Descendants { get; }
private TreeNode(T value)
{
Value = value;
Descendants = new List<TreeNode<T>>();
}
public static TreeNode<T> Parse(IReadOnlyList<IRow<T>> rows)
{
if (rows.Count == 0)
return null;
var result = new TreeNode<T>(rows[0].Value);
FillParents(new[] {result}, rows, 1, 1);
return result;
}
private static void FillParents(IList<TreeNode<T>> parents, IReadOnlyList<IRow<T>> rows, int index, int currentLevel)
{
var result = new List<TreeNode<T>>();
for (int i = index; i < rows.Count; i++)
{
var descriptor = new NodeDescriptor(rows[i]);
if (descriptor.Level != currentLevel)
{
FillParents(result, rows, i, descriptor.Level);
return;
}
var treeNode = new TreeNode<T>(rows[i].Value);
parents[descriptor.ParentIndex].Descendants.Add(treeNode);
result.Add(treeNode);
}
}
}
Sample usage:
public class Row : IRow<string>
{
public string TextNode { get; }
public string Value { get; }
public Row(string textNode, string userName)
{
TextNode = textNode;
Value = userName;
}
}
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
IRow<string>[] rows =
{
new Row("/", "Ahmed"),
new Row("/1/", "Saeed"),
new Row("/2/", "Amjid"),
new Row("/1/1/", "Noura"),
new Row("/2/1/", "Noura01"),
new Row("/2/2/", "Reem01"),
new Row("/1/1/1", "Under_noura")
};
var tree = TreeNode<string>.Parse(rows);
PrintTree(tree);
}
private static void PrintTree<T>(TreeNode<T> tree, int level = 0)
{
string prefix = new string('-', level*2);
Console.WriteLine("{0}{1}", prefix, tree.Value);
foreach (var node in tree.Descendants)
{
PrintTree(node, level + 1);
}
}
}

How do I use the IComparable interface?

I need a basic example of how to use the IComparable interface so that I can sort in ascending or descending order and by different fields of the object type I'm sorting.

Well, since you are using List<T> it would be a lot simpler to just use a Comparison<T>, for example:
List<Foo> data = ...
// sort by name descending
data.Sort((x,y) => -x.Name.CompareTo(y.Name));
Of course, with LINQ you could just use:
var ordered = data.OrderByDescending(x=>x.Name);
But you can re-introduce this in List<T> (for in-place re-ordering) quite easily; Here's an example that allows Sort on List<T> with lambda syntax:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
class Foo { // formatted for vertical space
public string Bar{get;set;}
}
static class Program {
static void Main() {
List<Foo> data = new List<Foo> {
new Foo {Bar = "abc"}, new Foo {Bar = "jkl"},
new Foo {Bar = "def"}, new Foo {Bar = "ghi"}
};
data.SortDescending(x => x.Bar);
foreach (var row in data) {
Console.WriteLine(row.Bar);
}
}
static void Sort<TSource, TValue>(this List<TSource> source,
Func<TSource, TValue> selector) {
var comparer = Comparer<TValue>.Default;
source.Sort((x,y)=>comparer.Compare(selector(x),selector(y)));
}
static void SortDescending<TSource, TValue>(this List<TSource> source,
Func<TSource, TValue> selector) {
var comparer = Comparer<TValue>.Default;
source.Sort((x,y)=>comparer.Compare(selector(y),selector(x)));
}
}

Here's a simple example:
public class SortableItem : IComparable<SortableItem>
{
public int someNumber;
#region IComparable<SortableItem> Members
public int CompareTo(SortableItem other)
{
int ret = -1;
if (someNumber < other.someNumber)
ret = -1;
else if (someNumber > other.someNumber)
ret = 1;
else if (someNumber == other.someNumber)
ret = 0;
return ret;
}
#endregion
}
"That's great, but what if I want to be able to control the sort order, or sort by another field?"
Simple. All we need to do is add few more fields to the object. First we'll add a string for a different sort type and then we'll add a boolean to denote whether we're sorting in descending or ascending order and then add a field which determines which field we want to search by.
public class SortableItem : IComparable<SortableItem>
{
public enum SortFieldType { SortNumber, SortString }
public int someNumber = -1;
public string someString = "";
public bool descending = true;
public SortFieldType sortField = SortableItem.SortFieldType.SortNumber;
#region IComparable<SortableItem> Members
public int CompareTo(SortableItem other)
{
int ret = -1;
if(sortField == SortableItem.SortFieldType.SortString)
{
// A lot of other objects implement IComparable as well.
// Take advantage of this.
ret = someString.CompareTo(other.someString);
}
else
{
if (someNumber < other.someNumber)
ret = -1;
else if (someNumber > other.someNumber)
ret = 1;
else if (someNumber == other.someNumber)
ret = 0;
}
// A quick way to switch sort order:
// -1 becomes 1, 1 becomes -1, 0 stays the same.
if(!descending) ret = ret * -1;
return ret;
}
#endregion
public override string ToString()
{
if(sortField == SortableItem.SortFieldType.SortString)
return someString;
else
return someNumber.ToString();
}
}
"Show me how!"
Well since you asked so nicely.
static class Program
{
static void Main()
{
List<SortableItem> items = new List<SortableItem>();
SortableItem temp = new SortableItem();
temp.someString = "Hello";
temp.someNumber = 1;
items.Add(temp);
temp = new SortableItem();
temp.someString = "World";
temp.someNumber = 2;
items.Add(temp);
SortByString(items);
Output(items);
SortAscending(items);
Output(items);
SortByNumber(items);
Output(items);
SortDescending(items);
Output(items);
Console.ReadKey();
}
public static void SortDescending(List<SortableItem> items)
{
foreach (SortableItem item in items)
item.descending = true;
}
public static void SortAscending(List<SortableItem> items)
{
foreach (SortableItem item in items)
item.descending = false;
}
public static void SortByNumber(List<SortableItem> items)
{
foreach (SortableItem item in items)
item.sortField = SortableItem.SortFieldType.SortNumber;
}
public static void SortByString(List<SortableItem> items)
{
foreach (SortableItem item in items)
item.sortField = SortableItem.SortFieldType.SortString;
}
public static void Output(List<SortableItem> items)
{
items.Sort();
for (int i = 0; i < items.Count; i++)
Console.WriteLine("Item " + i + ": " + items[i].ToString());
}
}

If you want dynamic sort, you can use LINQ
var itemsOrderedByNumber = ( from item in GetClasses() orderby item.Number select item ).ToList();
var itemsOrderedByText = ( from item in GetClasses() orderby item.Text select item ).ToList();
var itemsOrderedByDate = ( from item in GetClasses() orderby item.Date select item ).ToList();
or "Sort" method of List class:
List<Class1> itemsOrderedByNumber2 = new List<Class1>( GetClasses() );
itemsOrderedByNumber2.Sort( ( a, b ) => Comparer<int>.Default.Compare( a.Number, b.Number ) );
List<Class1> itemsOrderedByText2 = new List<Class1>( GetClasses() );
itemsOrderedByText2.Sort( ( a, b ) => Comparer<string>.Default.Compare( a.Text, b.Text ) );
List<Class1> itemsOrderedByDate2 = new List<Class1>( GetClasses() );
itemsOrderedByDate2.Sort( ( a, b ) => Comparer<DateTime>.Default.Compare( a.Date, b.Date ) );

You can use this for sorting list
namespace GenaricClass
{
class Employee :IComparable<Employee>
{
public string Name { get; set; }
public double Salary { get; set; }
public int CompareTo(Employee other)
{
if (this.Salary < other.Salary) return 1;
else if (this.Salary > other.Salary) return -1;
else return 0;
}
public static void Main()
{
List<Employee> empList = new List<Employee>()
{
new Employee{Name="a",Salary=140000},
new Employee{Name="b",Salary=120000},
new Employee{Name="c",Salary=160000},
new Employee{Name="d",Salary=10000}
};
empList.Sort();
foreach (Employee emp in empList)
{
System.Console.Write(emp.Salary +",");
}
System.Console.ReadKey();
}
}
}

This might not be in relation to sorting order, but it is still - I think - an interesting use of IComparable:
public static void MustBeInRange<T>(this T x, T minimum, T maximum, string paramName)
where T : IComparable<T>
{
bool underMinimum = (x.CompareTo(minimum) < 0);
bool overMaximum = (x.CompareTo(maximum) > 0);
if (underMinimum || overMaximum)
{
string message = string.Format(
System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture,
"Value outside of [{0},{1}] not allowed/expected",
minimum, maximum
);
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(paramName))
{
Exception noInner = null;
throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(message, noInner);
}
else
{
throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(paramName, x, message);
}
}
}
public static void MustBeInRange<T>(this T x, T minimum, T maximum)
where T : IComparable<T> { x.MustBeInRange(minimum, maximum, null); }
These simple extension methods allow you to do parameter range checking for any type that implements IComparable like this:
public void SomeMethod(int percentage, string file) {
percentage.MustBeInRange(0, 100, "percentage");
file.MustBeInRange("file000", "file999", "file");
// do something with percentage and file
// (caller will have gotten ArgumentOutOfRangeExceptions when applicable)
}

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
namespace Sorting_ComplexTypes
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Customer customer1 = new Customer {
ID = 101,
Name = "Mark",
Salary = 2400,
Type = "Retail Customers"
};
Customer customer2 = new Customer
{
ID = 102,
Name = "Brian",
Salary = 5000,
Type = "Retail Customers"
};
Customer customer3 = new Customer
{
ID = 103,
Name = "Steve",
Salary = 3400,
Type = "Retail Customers"
};
List<Customer> customer = new List<Customer>();
customer.Add(customer1);
customer.Add(customer2);
customer.Add(customer3);
Console.WriteLine("Before Sorting");
foreach(Customer c in customer)
{
Console.WriteLine(c.Name);
}
customer.Sort();
Console.WriteLine("After Sorting");
foreach(Customer c in customer)
{
Console.WriteLine(c.Name);
}
customer.Reverse();
Console.WriteLine("Reverse Sorting");
foreach (Customer c in customer)
{
Console.WriteLine(c.Name);
}
}
}
}
public class Customer : IComparable<Customer>
{
public int ID { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
public int Salary { get; set; }
public string Type { get; set; }
public int CompareTo(Customer other)
{
return this.Name.CompareTo(other.Name);
}
}