how to initialize dictionary as (key,value,value) pair in C#

Question

I want to store values as key,value,value pair. My data is of type

Key -> int & both values -> ulong,

How to initialize & fet

Answer 1

In C# 4, you'll have the Tuple type for your value, value pair.

There's an MSDN article describing the type and the design decisions behind it.

Answer 2

maybe you have to define a class say class Pair to hold your two value, and use int as the key.

Answer 3

This would be an option:

Dictionary<int, KeyValuePair<ulong, ulong>> dictionary = new Dictionary<int, KeyValuePair<ulong, ulong>>();

If you want to add in a value: Key=1, Pair = {2,3}

dictionary.Add(1, new KeyValuePair<ulong, ulong>(2, 3));

If you want to retrieve those values:

var valuePair = dictionary[1];
ulong value1 = valuePair.Key;
ulong value2 = valuePair.Value;

Or simply:

ulong value1 = dictionary[1].Key;

Answer 4

Look at Wintellect.PowerCollections Namespace they have special structure Pair<(Of ) and collections to work with it or you'll need to code your own Pair type.

Answer 5

Create a Tuple class, in the System namespace:

public class Tuple<T1,T2>
{
    private readonly T1 _item1;
    private readonly T2 _item2;

    public Tuple(T1 item1, T2 item2)
    {
        this._item1 = item1;
        this._item2 = item2;
    }

    public T1 Item1 { get { return _item1; } }

    public T2 Item2 { get { return _item2; } }
}

And a static Tuple class with a Create method so you get type inference which is not available on constructors:

public static class Tuple
{
    public static Tuple<T1, T2> Create<T1, T2>(T1 item1, T2 item2)
    {
        return new Tuple<T1, T2>(item1, item2);
    }
}

Then, when you get onto .NET 4.0, you can delete these classes because they're in the Base Class Library (and are compatible with F# tuples!).

Answer 6

You can make use of the KeyValuePair

Dictionary<int, KeyValuePair<ulong,ulong>> vals = new Dictionary<int, KeyValuePair<ulong, ulong>>();