Further to the last post on my implementation of a strongly-typed variant of WeakReferemce
, I thought it would be apropos to post another utility class surrounding weak references. This one really is more academic than useful considering that one could just stick WeakReference<T>
into a regular Dictionary<TKey, TValue>
and get almost the same functionality. All this class really does is hide away how we're managing the reference inside the dictionary.
/// <summary> /// Represents a dictionary that only holds weak references on values stored within it. /// </summary> /// <typeparam name="TKey">The type of the key.</typeparam> /// <typeparam name="TValue">The type of the value. /// <remarks>This must be a reference type (by definition, there's no reason to have a weak reference on value types).</remarks> /// </typeparam> public class WeakReferenceDictionary<TKey, TValue> : IDictionary<TKey, TValue> where TValue : class { private readonly Dictionary<TKey, WeakReference<TValue>> realDictionary; /// <summary> /// Initializes a new instance of the <see cref="WeakReferenceDictionary"/> /// class that is empty, has the default initial capacity, and uses the default /// equality comparer for the key type. /// </summary> public WeakReferenceDictionary() { this.realDictionary = new Dictionary<TKey, WeakReference<TValue>>(); } /// <summary> /// Initializes a new instance of the <see cref="WeakReferenceDictionary "/> /// class that is empty, has the specified initial capacity, and uses the default /// equality comparer for the key type. /// </summary> /// <param name="capacity"> /// The initial number of elements that the <see cref="WeakReferenceDictionar "/> /// can contain. /// </param> /// <exception cref="System.ArgumentOutOfRangeException"> /// <paramref name="capacity"/> is less than <c>0</c>. /// </exception> public WeakReferenceDictionary(int capacity) { this.realDictionary = new Dictionary<TKey, WeakReference<TValue>>(capacity); } /// <summary> /// Initializes a new instance of the <see cref="WeakReferenceDictionary "/> /// class that is empty, has the default initial capacity, and uses the specified /// <see cref="System.Collections.Generic.IEqualityComparer " />. /// </summary> /// <param name="comparer"> /// The <see cref="System.Collections.Generic.IEqualityComparer " /> implementation to use /// when comparing keys, or <c>null</c> to use the default <see cref="System.Collections.Generic.EqualityComparer " /> /// for the type of the key. /// </param> public WeakReferenceDictionary(IEqualityComparer<TKey> comparer) { this.realDictionary = new Dictionary<TKey, WeakReference<TValue>>(comparer); } /// <summary> /// Initializes a new instance of the <see cref="WeakReferenceDictionary " /> /// class that is empty, has the specified initial capacity, and uses the specified /// <see cref="System.Collections.Generic.IEqualityComparer " />. /// <param name="capacity"> /// The initial number of elements that the <see cref="WeakReferenceDictionary " /> /// can contain. /// </param> /// <param name="comparer"> /// The <see cref="System.Collections.Generic.IEqualityComparer<T>" /> implementation to use /// when comparing keys, or <c>null</c> to use the default <see cref="System.Collections.Generic.EqualityComparer<T>" /> /// for the type of the key. /// </param> /// <exception cref="System.ArgumentOutOfRangeException"> /// <paramref name="capacity"/> is less than <c>0</c>. /// </exception> public WeakReferenceDictionary(int capacity, IEqualityComparer<TKey> comparer) { this.realDictionary = new Dictionary<TKey, WeakReference<TValue>>(capacity, comparer); } /// <summary> /// Initializes a new instance of the <see cref="WeakReferenceDictionary<TKey, TValue>"/> /// class that contains elements copied from the specified <see cref="System.Collections.Generic.IDictionary<TKey,TValue>" /> /// and uses the default equality comparer for the key type. /// </summary> /// <param name="dictionary">The <see cref="System.Collections.Generic.IDictionary<TKey,TValue>" /> whose elements are /// copied to the new <see cref="WeakReferenceDictionary<TKey, TValue>"/>. /// </param> /// <exception cref="T:System.ArgumentNullException"> /// <paramref name="dictionary"/> is <c>null</c>. /// </exception> /// <exception cref="T:System.ArgumentException"> /// <paramref name="dictionary"/> contains one or more duplicate keys. /// </exception> public WeakReferenceDictionary(IDictionary<TKey, TValue> dictionary) { this.realDictionary = new Dictionary<TKey, WeakReference<TValue>>( dictionary.ToDictionary(pair => pair.Key, pair => new WeakReference<TValue>(pair.Value))); } /// <summary> /// Initializes a new instance of the <see cref="WeakReferenceDictionary<TKey, TValue>"/> /// class that contains elements copied from the specified <see cref="System.Collections.Generic.IDictionary<TKey,TValue>" /> /// and uses the specified <see cref="System.Collections.Generic.IEqualityComparer<T>" />. /// </summary> /// <param name="comparer"> /// The <see cref="System.Collections.Generic.IDictionary<TKey,TValue>" /> whose elements are /// copied to the new <see cref="WeakReferenceDictionary<TKey, TValue>"/>. /// </param> /// <param name="dictionary"> /// The <see cref="System.Collections.Generic.IEqualityComparer<T>" /> implementation to use /// when comparing keys, or <c>null</c> to use the default <see cref="System.Collections.Generic.EqualityComparer<T>" /> /// for the type of the key. /// </param> /// <exception cref="System.ArgumentNullException"> /// <paramref name="dictionary"/> is <c>null</c>. /// </exception> /// <exception cref="System.ArgumentException"> /// <paramref name="dictionary"/> contains one or more duplicate keys. /// </exception> public WeakReferenceDictionary(IDictionary<TKey, TValue> dictionary, IEqualityComparer<TKey> comparer) { this.realDictionary = new Dictionary<TKey, WeakReference<TValue>>( dictionary.ToDictionary(pair => pair.Key, pair => new WeakReference<TValue>(pair.Value)), comparer); } #region IDictionary<TKey,TValue> Members /// <summary> /// Adds an element with the provided key and value to the <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.IDictionary`2"/>. /// </summary> /// <param name="key">The object to use as the key of the element to add.</param> /// <param name="value">The object to use as the value of the element to add.</param> /// <exception cref="T:System.ArgumentNullException"> /// <paramref name="key"/> is null. /// </exception> /// <exception cref="T:System.ArgumentException"> /// An element with the same key already exists in the <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.IDictionary`2"/>. /// </exception> /// <exception cref="T:System.NotSupportedException"> /// The <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.IDictionary`2"/> is read-only. /// </exception> public void Add(TKey key, TValue value) { this.realDictionary.Add(key, new WeakReference<TValue>(value)); } /// <summary> /// Determines whether the <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.IDictionary`2"/> contains an element with the specified key. /// </summary> /// <param name="key">The key to locate in the <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.IDictionary`2"/>.</param> /// <returns> /// true if the <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.IDictionary`2"/> contains an element with the key; otherwise, false. /// </returns> /// <exception cref="T:System.ArgumentNullException"> /// <paramref name="key"/> is null. /// </exception> public bool ContainsKey(TKey key) { return this.realDictionary.ContainsKey(key); } /// <summary> /// Gets an <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.ICollection`1"/> containing the keys of the <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.IDictionary`2"/>. /// </summary> /// <value></value> /// <returns> /// An <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.ICollection`1"/> containing the keys of the object that implements <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.IDictionary`2"/>. /// </returns> public ICollection<TKey> Keys { get { return this.realDictionary.Keys; } } /// <summary> /// Removes the element with the specified key from the <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.IDictionary`2"/>. /// </summary> /// <param name="key">The key of the element to remove.</param> /// <returns> /// true if the element is successfully removed; otherwise, false. This method also returns false if <paramref name="key"/> was not found in the original <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.IDictionary`2"/>. /// </returns> /// <exception cref="T:System.ArgumentNullException"> /// <paramref name="key"/> is null. /// </exception> /// <exception cref="T:System.NotSupportedException"> /// The <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.IDictionary`2"/> is read-only. /// </exception> public bool Remove(TKey key) { return this.realDictionary.Remove(key); } /// <summary> /// Gets the value associated with the specified key. /// </summary> /// <param name="key">The key whose value to get.</param> /// <param name="value">When this method returns, the value associated with the specified key, if the key is found; otherwise, the default value for the type of the <paramref name="value"/> parameter. This parameter is passed uninitialized.</param> /// <returns> /// true if the object that implements <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.IDictionary`2"/> contains an element with the specified key; otherwise, false. /// </returns> /// <exception cref="T:System.ArgumentNullException"> /// <paramref name="key"/> is null. /// </exception> public bool TryGetValue(TKey key, out TValue value) { WeakReference<TValue> reference; if (this.realDictionary.TryGetValue(key, out reference)) { value = reference.Target; return true; } else { value = default(TValue); return false; } } /// <summary> /// Gets an <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.ICollection`1"/> containing the values in the <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.IDictionary`2"/>. /// </summary> /// <value></value> /// <returns> /// An <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.ICollection`1"/> containing the values in the object that implements <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.IDictionary`2"/>. /// </returns> public ICollection<TValue> Values { get { return this.realDictionary .Values .Select(value => value.Target) .ToList() .AsReadOnly(); } } /// <summary> /// Gets or sets the value associated with the specified key. /// </summary> /// <param name="key">The key of the value to get or set.</param> /// <returns>The value associated with the specified key. If the specified key is not /// found, a get operation throws a <see cref="System.Collections.Generic.KeyNotFoundException"/>, /// and a set operation creates a new element with the specified key.</returns> /// <exception cref="System.ArgumentNullException"> /// <paramref name="key"/> is <c>null</c>. /// </exception> /// <exception cref="System.Collections.Generic.KeyNotFoundException"> /// The property is retrieved and the key does not exist in the collection. /// </exception> public TValue this[TKey key] { get { return this.realDictionary[key].Target; } set { this.realDictionary[key] = new WeakReference<TValue>(value); } } #endregion #region ICollection<KeyValuePair<TKey,TValue>> Members /// <summary> /// Adds an item to the <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.ICollection`1"/>. /// </summary> /// <param name="item">The object to add to the <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.ICollection`1"/>.</param> /// <exception cref="T:System.NotSupportedException"> /// The <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.ICollection`1"/> is read-only. /// </exception> void ICollection<KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>>.Add(KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue> item) { Add(item.Key, item.Value); } /// <summary> /// Removes all items from the <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.ICollection`1"/>. /// </summary> /// <exception cref="T:System.NotSupportedException"> /// The <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.ICollection`1"/> is read-only. /// </exception> public void Clear() { this.realDictionary.Clear(); } /// <summary> /// Determines whether the <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.ICollection`1"/> contains a specific value. /// </summary> /// <param name="item">The object to locate in the <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.ICollection`1"/>.</param> /// <returns> /// true if <paramref name="item"/> is found in the <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.ICollection`1"/>; otherwise, false. /// </returns> bool ICollection<KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>>.Contains(KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue> item) { return this.realDictionary.ContainsKey(item.Key); } /// <summary> /// Copies the elements of the <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.ICollection`1"/> to an <see cref="T:System.Array"/>, starting at a particular <see cref="T:System.Array"/> index. /// </summary> /// <param name="array">The one-dimensional <see cref="T:System.Array"/> that is the destination of the elements copied from <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.ICollection`1"/>. The <see cref="T:System.Array"/> must have zero-based indexing.</param> /// <param name="arrayIndex">The zero-based index in <paramref name="array"/> at which copying begins.</param> /// <exception cref="T:System.ArgumentNullException"> /// <paramref name="array"/> is null. /// </exception> /// <exception cref="T:System.ArgumentOutOfRangeException"> /// <paramref name="arrayIndex"/> is less than 0. /// </exception> /// <exception cref="T:System.ArgumentException"> /// <paramref name="array"/> is multidimensional. /// -or- /// <paramref name="arrayIndex"/> is equal to or greater than the length of <paramref name="array"/>. /// -or- /// The number of elements in the source <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.ICollection`1"/> is greater than the available space from <paramref name="arrayIndex"/> to the end of the destination <paramref name="array"/>. /// -or- /// Type <paramref name="T"/> cannot be cast automatically to the type of the destination <paramref name="array"/>. /// </exception> void ICollection<KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>>.CopyTo(KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>[] array, int arrayIndex) { if (array == null) { throw new ArgumentNullException("array", "Array cannot be null"); } if ( (arrayIndex < 0) || (arrayIndex > array.Length) ) { throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException("array", "Index must be a non-negative value within the array"); } if ((array.Length - arrayIndex) < this.realDictionary.Count) { throw new ArgumentException("Array is too small", "array"); } foreach (var pair in this.realDictionary) { array[arrayIndex++] = new KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>(pair.Key, pair.Value.Target); } } /// <summary> /// Gets the number of elements contained in the <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.ICollection`1"/>. /// </summary> /// <value></value> /// <returns> /// The number of elements contained in the <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.ICollection`1"/>. /// </returns> public int Count { get { return this.realDictionary.Count; } } /// <summary> /// Gets a value indicating whether the <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.ICollection`1"/> is read-only. /// </summary> /// <value></value> /// <returns>true if the <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.ICollection`1"/> is read-only; otherwise, false. /// </returns> public bool IsReadOnly { get { return false; } } /// <summary> /// Removes the first occurrence of a specific object from the <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.ICollection`1"/>. /// </summary> /// <param name="item">The object to remove from the <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.ICollection`1"/>.</param> /// <returns> /// true if <paramref name="item"/> was successfully removed from the <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.ICollection`1"/>; otherwise, false. This method also returns false if <paramref name="item"/> is not found in the original <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.ICollection`1"/>. /// </returns> /// <exception cref="T:System.NotSupportedException"> /// The <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.ICollection`1"/> is read-only. /// </exception> bool ICollection<KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>>.Remove(KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue> item) { return Remove(item.Key); } #endregion #region IEnumerable<KeyValuePair<TKey,TValue>> Members /// <summary> /// Returns an enumerator that iterates through the collection. /// </summary> /// <returns> /// A <see cref="T:System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerator`1"/> that can be used to iterate through the collection. /// </returns> public IEnumerator<KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>> GetEnumerator() { foreach (var pair in this.realDictionary) { yield return new KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>(pair.Key, pair.Value.Target); } } #endregion #region IEnumerable Members /// <summary> /// Returns an enumerator that iterates through a collection. /// </summary> /// <returns> /// An <see cref="T:System.Collections.IEnumerator"/> object that can be used to iterate through the collection. /// </returns> System.Collections.IEnumerator System.Collections.IEnumerable.GetEnumerator() { return GetEnumerator(); } #endregion }
So there you have it, WeakReferenceDictionary<TKey, TValue>
. It's not a complete replacement for a regular dictionary as it doesn't support all the same interfaces such as the ICollection
or ISerialization
. Also, I haven't fully commented everything as well as perhaps it should be. I'll leave all that as an exercise for you.