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The C# TryGetValue Method – C# Dictionary TryGetValue Examples

When working with data structures in C#, it’s important to have a way to check if a key exists in a collection before attempting to retrieve its associated value. The TryGetValue method in C# provides a convenient and efficient way to do just that.

In this article, we’ll be diving into the TryGetValue method, some C# Dictionary TryGetValue Examples, and showing you how to use it in your own projects. We’ll also create a small project demonstrating the method’s capabilities to help you better understand how it works and how it can be applied in different scenarios. Whether you’re working with dictionaries, lists, arrays, or other data structures, the TryGetValue method is a powerful tool that can help you write cleaner and more efficient code in C#.

The TryGetValue method in C# is a useful tool that allows you to retrieve the value associated with a key in a dictionary, while also checking if the key exists in the dictionary. This method is useful when you need to check if a key exists in a dictionary before attempting to retrieve its associated value. In this article, we’ll be going through a step-by-step guide on how to use the TryGetValue method and we’ll also be creating a small project to demonstrate its capabilities. Here are a few examples of the TryGetValue method in action:  

Some C# Dictionary TryGetValue Examples

1. Using TryGetValue method to check if a key exists in a dictionary before adding a new value:

Dictionary<string, int> counts = new Dictionary<string, int>();
int value;
if (!counts.TryGetValue("apple", out value))
{
    counts.Add("apple", 1);
}
else
{
    counts["apple"]++;
}

2. Using TryGetValue method to safely retrieve a value from a dictionary and provide a default value if the key does not exist:

Dictionary<string, int> scores = new Dictionary<string, int>()
{
    {"John", 100},
    {"Mary", 90}
};
int score;
if(!scores.TryGetValue("Mike", out score))
{
    score = 0;
}
Console.WriteLine("Mike's score is: " + score);

Dictionary<string, string> cars = new Dictionary<string, string>()
{
    {"Honda", "Civic"},
    {"Toyota", "Camry"},
    {"Ford", "Mustang"}
};
string car;
if (cars.TryGetValue("Honda", out car))
{
    Console.WriteLine("Honda: " + car);
}
else
{
    Console.WriteLine("Honda is not in the dictionary");
}

Dictionary<string, int> ages = new Dictionary<string, int>()
{
    {"John", 25},
    {"Mary", 30},
    {"Mike", 35}
};

int age;
if (ages.TryGetValue("John", out age))
{
    Console.WriteLine($"John is {age} years old");
}
else
{
    Console.WriteLine("John is not in the dictionary");
}

string[] names = { "John", "Mary", "Mike", "Bob" };
foreach (string name in names)
{
    if (ages.TryGetValue(name, out age))
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"{name} is {age} years old");
    }
    else
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"{name} is not in the dictionary");
    }
}

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