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C# equivalent of VB's With keyword

By , 27 May 2011
 
There’s no with keyword in C#, like Visual Basic. So you end up writing code like this:
this.StatusProgressBar.IsIndeterminate = false;
this.StatusProgressBar.Visibility = Visibility.Visible;
this.StatusProgressBar.Minimum = 0;
this.StatusProgressBar.Maximum = 100;
this.StatusProgressBar.Value = percentage;
Here’s a workaround to this:
this.StatusProgressBar.Use(p =>
{
  p.IsIndeterminate = false;
  p.Visibility = Visibility.Visible;
  p.Minimum = 0;
  p.Maximum = 100;
  p.Value = percentage;
});
This saves you repeatedly typing the same class instance or control name over and over again. It also makes code more readable since it clearly says that you are working with a progress bar control within the block. It you are setting properties of several controls one after another, it’s easier to read such code this way since you will have dedicated block for each control.
It’s a very simple one line extension method that enables it:
public static void Use<T>(this T item, Action<T> work)
{
    work(item);
}
You could argue that you can just do this:
var p = this.StatusProgressBar;
p.IsIndeterminate = false;
p.Visibility = Visibility.Visible;
p.Minimum = 0;
p.Maximum = 100;
p.Value = percentage;
But it’s not elegant. You are introducing a variable “p” in the local scope of the whole function. This goes against naming conventions. Morever, you can’t limit the scope of “p” within a certain place in the function.

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)

About the Author

Omar Al Zabir
Architect BT, UK (ex British Telecom)
United Kingdom United Kingdom
Member

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GeneralMuch less efficient than the VB version, as it introduces an...memberIan Shlasko1 Jun '11 - 3:11 
Much less efficient than the VB version, as it introduces an anonymous function... Still, very clever, so you've got my 5.

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