In Jabber-net library, which I am using for my client, I saw this piece of code, which basically stores an array of type-unsafe properties. It is a useful idiom to have in mind for C# developers.
/// <summary>
/// Sets or retrieves a connection property.
/// You have to know the type of the property based on the name.
/// For example, PORT is an integer.
/// </summary>
/// <param name=”prop”>The property to get or set.</param>
/// <returns></returns>
public object this[string prop]
{
get
{
if (!m_properties.Contains(prop))
return null;
return m_properties[prop];
}
set
{
m_properties[prop] = value;
if (PropertyChanged != null)
{
PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(prop));
}
}
}
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Used in this way (if stream is of this class):
stream[(string)parent.Tag] = GetControlValue(parent);
References:
While reading more about this, I learned it is called “Indexed Properties”.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa288464(VS.71).aspx
For preliminary on Indexers (like operator [] in C++):
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa288465(VS.71).aspx