I want to create a matrix using link lists in C#. I have been able to find how to create a link lists with links point in one direction but not in 4 directions. I want to be able to traverse the matrix up,down,left and right for ease of data manipulation. I know that this can be "Easily" done in older languages such as C++ and pascal but can not figure out how to do it in C#.

without using the UNSAFE code?
i found without pointer, things i can do became less and less.:)

i am a c# programmer learner in china.
hope to communicate with you.

I don't know why but I feel the need to jump on this thread.

It may be that 'this can be "Easily" done in older languages such as C++ and pascal' but I don't believe it can be more easily done in C#. You still have to basiccaly 'roll your own' mechanisms for storing the 'links' and traversing them. But C# you may find doing something like creating a class to hold the matrix value and its four 'links' and then storing that 'object' in a hash table will make things 'easier'. Or you store your value and its four links in an XML document. In either case you have built-in (efficient) mechanisms for searching and retrieving data rather than having to build your own.

I personally would shudder at having to determine and keep track of four different relationships for each matrix cell. I hope all you have to do is traverse the matrix and change individual matrix values, not insert and/or remove cells to the matrix after it has been established.

Hi,

C# is very like C and C++, but not identical. C# doesn't have pointers, instead it has references, like C++ does.

Using the ref keyword has the disadvantage of insisting that the value be initialized before being passed to the method. Fortunately, the out keyword saves us. Here’s a simple program using references.

using System;
public class SwapExample
{
    static void swap(ref int x, ref int y, out int sum)
    {
        int temp;
        temp = x;
        x = y;
        y = temp;
        sum = x + y;
    }
public static void Main()
    {
        int x = 1, y = 2, sum ;
        SwapExample.swap(ref x,ref y, out sum);
        Console.WriteLine("(after swap) x = {0} y = {1} sum = {2}",
            x,y,sum);
    }
}

You can do at least as much in C# and in C and C++, but slightly differently.

HtH



Sandra MacGregor

BTW,

I've not heard or seen a " 'matrix' = 2-dimensional" 'list'. A 'list' by definition is 1-dimensional. You can move up or down. There's no other dimension that would allow you to move accross.

If you want a 2-dimensional matrix, use a table = an array of arrays. C# is even better here than C or C++ because you can have a table = to an array of structs in which the dimension (size) of the elements in each struct = sub-array is different. That is, each row can be of a unique size. In this structure, to move in any of the 4 directions is done by indexing - really simple. You can also fill the table cells with references if you don't want the actual values there.


Sandra MacGregor