Predicate Delegates in C#

Question

Can you explain to me:

• What is a Predicate Delegate?
• Where should we use predicates?
• Any best practices when using predicates?

Answer 1

A predicate is a function that returns true or false. A predicate delegate is a reference to a predicate.

So basically a predicate delegate is a reference to a function that returns true or false. Predicates are very useful for filtering a list of values - here is an example.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        List<int> list = new List<int> { 1, 2, 3 };

        Predicate<int> predicate = new Predicate<int>(greaterThanTwo);

        List<int> newList = list.FindAll(predicate);
    }

    static bool greaterThanTwo(int arg)
    {
        return arg > 2;
    }
}

Now if you are using C# 3 you can use a lambda to represent the predicate in a cleaner fashion:

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        List<int> list = new List<int> { 1, 2, 3 };

        List<int> newList = list.FindAll(i => i > 2);
    }
}

Answer 2

If you're in VB 9 (VS2008), a predicate can be a complex function:

Dim list As New List(Of Integer)(New Integer() {1, 2, 3})
Dim newList = list.FindAll(AddressOf GreaterThanTwo)
...
Function GreaterThanTwo(ByVal item As Integer) As Boolean
    'do some work'
    Return item > 2
End Function

Or you can write your predicate as a lambda, as long as it's only one expression:

Dim list As New List(Of Integer)(New Integer() {1, 2, 3})
Dim newList = list.FindAll(Function(item) item > 2)

Answer 3

Predicate falls under the category of generic delegates in C#. This is called with one argument and always return the boolean type. Basically, the predicate is used to test the condition - true/false. Many classes support predicate as an argument. For example, list.findall expects the parameter predicate. Here is an example of predicate.

Imagine a function pointer with the signature:

<modifier> bool delegate myDelegate<in T>(T match);

Here is the example:

Node.cs:

namespace PredicateExample
{
    class Node
    {
        public string Ip_Address { get; set; }
        public string Node_Name { get; set; }
        public uint Node_Area { get; set; }
    }
}

Main class:

using System;
using System.Threading;
using System.Collections.Generic;

namespace PredicateExample
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            Predicate<Node> backboneArea = Node =>  Node.Node_Area == 0 ;
            List<Node> Nodes = new List<Node>();
            Nodes.Add(new Node { Ip_Address = "1.1.1.1", Node_Area = 0, Node_Name = "Node1" });
            Nodes.Add(new Node { Ip_Address = "2.2.2.2", Node_Area = 1, Node_Name = "Node2" });
            Nodes.Add(new Node { Ip_Address = "3.3.3.3", Node_Area = 2, Node_Name = "Node3" });
            Nodes.Add(new Node { Ip_Address = "4.4.4.4", Node_Area = 0, Node_Name = "Node4" });
            Nodes.Add(new Node { Ip_Address = "5.5.5.5", Node_Area = 1, Node_Name = "Node5" });
            Nodes.Add(new Node { Ip_Address = "6.6.6.6", Node_Area = 0, Node_Name = "Node6" });
            Nodes.Add(new Node { Ip_Address = "7.7.7.7", Node_Area = 2, Node_Name = "Node7" });

            foreach( var item in Nodes.FindAll(backboneArea))
            {
                Console.WriteLine("Node Name " + item.Node_Name + " Node IP Address " + item.Ip_Address);
            }

            Console.ReadLine();
        }
    }
}

Answer 4

Leading on from Andrew's answer with regards to c#2 and c#3 ... you can also do them inline for a one off search function (see below).

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        List<int> list = new List<int> { 1, 2, 3 };

        List<int> newList = list.FindAll(delegate(int arg)
                           {
                               return arg> 2;
                           });
    }
}

Hope this helps.