C# ArraySegment: Get Array Range, Offset and Count

Use ArraySegment to store information about ranges in arrays, with offsets and counts.

ArraySegment. Often we need to track ranges in arrays. For example, part of an array might be used for a different purpose than other parts.

Notes, generic struct. ArraySegment is a generic struct that stores information about an array range. We can create ArraySegments and pass them to methods to operate on parts of arrays.Generic Class, Method Struct Array

An example. ArraySegment must have a type parameter—this must match the array type. Once you construct the ArraySegment, you can read the Array, Offset, and Count to retrieve its fields.

Example: We use the original array, the Offset and Count properties, and loop through the elements specified in the ArraySegment.

Property

Argument 1: The first argument to ArraySegment is the array—this must have the same type of elements as the ArraySegment.

Argument 2: This is the offset into the array—to start at the second element, pass the index 1.

Argument 3: This is the count of elements (not the end index) that is being referred to by the ArraySegment.

C# program that uses ArraySegment using System; class Program { static void Main() { // Create an ArraySegment from this array. int[] array = { 10, 20, 30 }; ArraySegment<int> segment = new ArraySegment<int>(array, 1, 2); // Write the array. Console.WriteLine("-- Array --"); int[] original = segment.Array; foreach (int value in original) { Console.WriteLine(value); } // Write the offset. Console.WriteLine("-- Offset --"); Console.WriteLine(segment.Offset); // Write the count. Console.WriteLine("-- Count --"); Console.WriteLine(segment.Count); // Write the elements in the range specified in the ArraySegment. Console.WriteLine("-- Range --"); for (int i = segment.Offset; i <= segment.Count; i++) { Console.WriteLine(segment.Array[i]); } } } Output -- Array -- 10 20 30 -- Offset -- 1 -- Count -- 2 -- Range -- 20 30

Discussion. Let's say you have a large data array, and want to call methods that act upon different parts of this large array. Copying these parts would cause increased memory usage.

Instead: Pass an ArraySegment to these methods as an argument. In these methods, use the ArraySegment to access the large array.

Notes, solutions. I usually prefer solutions that involve indexes alone. These are similar to the functionality of the Substring method—it receives a start index and a count as ints.Substring Int, uint

However: ArraySegment might be more standardized, and could be easier for other developers to maintain and understand.

A summary. ArraySegment allows you to specify a range inside a specific array. You can access properties of the ArraySegment to access the original data and also the positional data.

The Dev Codes

.Net

.NET Array Dictionary List String 2D Async DataTable Dates DateTime Enum File For Foreach Format IEnumerable If IndexOf Lambda LINQ Parse Path Process Property Regex Replace Sort Split Static StringBuilder Substring Switch Tuple

Java

Core Array ArrayList HashMap String 2D Cast Character Console Deque Duplicates File For Format HashSet If IndexOf Lambda Math ParseInt Process Random Regex Replace Sort Split StringBuilder Substring Switch Vector While

TheDeveloperBlog.com

C# ArraySegment: Get Array Range, Offset and Count

Related Links:

.Net

Java

Related Links