What are some common use cases for generics in C# .Net?

Here are some common use cases for generics:

• Collections: The System.Collections.Generic namespace provides various generic collection classes like List<T>, Dictionary<TKey, TValue>, and Queue<T>, offering type-safe and efficient data storage and retrieval.

  1. List:

     using System.Collections.Generic;
     
     List<int> numbers = new List<int>();
     numbers.Add(1);
     numbers.Add(2);
     numbers.Add(3);
     

  2. Dictionary<TKey, TValue>:

     using System.Collections.Generic;
     
     Dictionary<string, int> ages = new Dictionary<string, int>();
     ages.Add("John", 30);
     ages.Add("Alice", 25);
     ages.Add("Bob", 35);
     

  3. Queue:

     using System.Collections.Generic;
     
     Queue<string> tasks = new Queue<string>();
     tasks.Enqueue("Task 1");
     tasks.Enqueue("Task 2");
     tasks.Enqueue("Task 3");
     

• Methods: You can define generic methods that operate on different data types, such as a Swap<T>(T a, T b) method that swaps the values of two variables regardless of their type.

  1. Swap:

     public void Swap<T>(ref T a, ref T b)
     {
         T temp = a;
         a = b;
         b = temp;
     }
     

  2. Max:

     public T Max<T>(T a, T b) where T : IComparable<T>
     {
         return a.CompareTo(b) > 0 ? a : b;
     }
     

  3. PrintArray:

     public void PrintArray<T>(T[] array)
     {
         foreach (T item in array)
         {
      	   Console.WriteLine(item);
         }
     }
     

• Interfaces: Generic interfaces can define contracts for generic types, ensuring consistency and type safety across different implementations.

  1. IComparable:

     public interface IComparable<T>
     {
         int CompareTo(T other);
     }
     

  2. IEnumerable:

     public interface IEnumerable<T>
     {
         IEnumerator<T> GetEnumerator();
     }
     

  3. IList:

     public interface IList<T> : ICollection<T>
     {
         T this[int index] { get; set; }
         int IndexOf(T item);
         void Insert(int index, T item);
         void RemoveAt(int index);
     }