what is the fastest way to generate a unique set in .net 2

Question

I have what is essentially a jagged array of name value pairs - i need to generate a set of unique name values from this. the jagged array is approx 86,000 x 11 values. It d

Answer 1

Instead of using a Dictionary why not extend KeyedCollection? According to the documentation:

Provides the abstract base class for a collection whose keys are embedded in the values.

You then need to override the protected TKey GetKeyForItem(TItem item) function. As it is an hybrid between IList and IDictionary I think it's likely to be quite fast.