What are the best practices for using dictionaries in C#?

What are the best practices for using dictionaries in C#?

When using dictionaries in C#, consider the following best practices: 1. Choose the right type of key and value. 2. Use appropriate initial capacity to reduce resizing. 3. Handle potential key collisions gracefully. 4. Use TryGetValue for safe access. 5. Avoid modifying the dictionary while iterating.

Can you explain why using TryGetValue is important?

Using TryGetValue is important because it allows you to safely check if a key exists in the dictionary without throwing an exception. This improves performance and makes your code cleaner.

What about performance considerations when using dictionaries?

Performance considerations include choosing the right hash function, minimizing collisions, and understanding the time complexity of operations like add, remove, and lookup, which are generally O(1) on average.

Are there any common pitfalls to avoid?

Yes, common pitfalls include using mutable types as keys, not handling null values properly, and not considering the dictionary's capacity, which can lead to performance issues.