Indexers In C#

Introduction

C# introduces a new concept known as Indexers which are used for treating an object as an array. The indexers are usually known as smart arrays in C# community. Defining a C# indexer is much like defining properties. We can say that an indexer is a member that enables an object to be indexed in the same way as an array.

this [argument list] 
{ 
    get 
    { 
        // Get codes goes here 
    } 
    set 
    { 
        // Set codes goes here 
    } 
} 

Where the modifier can be private, public, protected or internal. The return type can be any valid C# types. The 'this' is a special keyword in C# to indicate the object of the current class. The formal-argument-list specifies the parameters of the indexer. The formal parameter list of an indexer corresponds to that of a method, except that at least one parameter must be specified, and that the ref and out parameter modifiers are not permitted. Remember that indexers in C# must have at least one parameter. Other wise the compiler will generate a compilation error.

The following program shows a C# indexer in action

// C#: INDEXER 
using System; 
using System.Collections; 

class MyClass 
{ 
    private string []data = new string[5]; 
    public string this [int index] 
    { 
       get 
       { 
           return data[index]; 
       } 
       set 
       { 
           data[index] = value; 
       } 
    } 
}

class MyClient 
{ 
   public static void Main() 
   { 
      MyClass mc = new MyClass(); 
      mc[0] = "Rajesh"; 
      mc[1] = "A3-126"; 
      mc[2] = "Snehadara"; 
      mc[3] = "Irla"; 
      mc[4] = "Mumbai"; 
      Console.WriteLine("{0},{1},{2},{3},{4}",mc[0],mc[1],mc[2],mc[3],mc[4]); 
   } 
}