Hour 16. Collections and Arrays

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Any time you need to store and retrieve large amounts of resources or objects, you normally use a collection. A collection groups similar objects together and gives you the ability to insert, delete, and/or access these items. A collection can be as simple as a one-dimensional array or as complex as a binary tree. By knowing the advantages and disadvantages of each of the different types of collections that exist, you will make better decisions when designing your application so that it uses objects placed in the most optimal collection for that application.

It comes as no surprise that because the .NET Framework contains many object and value objects, a wide variety of collection classes have been created to contain them. Furthermore, with the extensive use of inheritance throughout these collection classes, you can use the same class for different object types easily.

In this hour you will learn:

• How the collection classes within the .NET Framework are designed

• How to use some of the different collection classes within your application

• Some of the advantages and disadvantages of the different collection classes

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