Cast List<int> to List<string> in .NET 2.0
Question
Can you cast a List<int>
to List<string>
somehow?
I know I could loop through and .ToString() the thing, but a cast would be awesome.
I'm in C# 2.0 (so no LINQ).
Solution
.NET 2.0 has the ConvertAll
method where you can pass in a converter function:
List<int> l1 = new List<int>(new int[] { 1,2,3 } );
List<string> l2 = l1.ConvertAll<string>(delegate(int i) { return i.ToString(); });
OTHER TIPS
Updated for 2010
List<int> l1 = new List<int>(new int[] { 1,2,3 } );
List<string> l2 = l1.ConvertAll<string>(x => x.ToString());
Is C# 2.0 able to do List<T>.Convert
? If so, I think your best guess would be to use that with a delegate:
List<int> list = new List<int>();
list.Add(1);
list.Add(2);
list.Add(3);
list.Convert(delegate (int i) { return i.ToString(); });
Something along those lines.
Upvote Glenn's answer, which is probably the correct code ;-)
You wouldn't be able to directly cast it as no explicit or implicit cast exists from int to string, it would have to be a method involving .ToString() such as:-
foreach (int i in intList) stringList.Add(i.ToString());
Edit - or as others have pointed out rather brilliantly, use intList.ConvertAll(delegate(int i) { return i.ToString(); });, however clearly you still have to use .ToString() and it's a conversion rather than a cast.
You can use:
List<int> items = new List<int>(new int[] { 1,2,3 } );
List<string> s = (from i in items select i.ToString()).ToList();
You have to build a new list. The underlying bit representations of List<int>
and List<string>
are completely incompatible -- on a 64-bit platform, for instance, the individual members aren't even the same size.
It is theoretically possible to treat a List<string>
as a List<object>
-- this gets you into the exciting worlds of covariance and contravariance, and is not currently supported by C# or VB.NET.
result = listOfInt.Select(i => i.ToString(CultureInfo.InvariantCulture)).ToList()
replace the parameters result and listOfInt to your parameters