Array.Copy ArrayList as Convert ArrayList, List null Type typeof

Convert `ArrayList`, array

An ArrayList has similarities to an array. It stores a 1-dimensional collection of elements. It can be converted to an array with the ToArray method.

ToArray is found on the ArrayList type. It is not an extension method—it is part of the ArrayList class itself.

Example

You will need to provide a Type parameter to the ToArray method on ArrayList. This tells the method the target type. Here we do that with the typeof operator.

Note The string keyword is used, and not a string literal. Specifying types with "String Names" is less clear.

Note 2 The code populates a new ArrayList with 4 object instances containing string data (string literals).

Note 3 The as-cast is necessary to use strong typing on the result from ToArray. It will result in a null value if the cast does not succeed.

using System;
using System.Collections;

// Create an ArrayList with 4 strings.
ArrayList list = new ArrayList();
list.Add("flora");
list.Add("fauna");
list.Add("mineral");
list.Add("plant");

// Convert ArrayList to array.
string[] array = list.ToArray(typeof(string)) as string[];

// Loop over array.
foreach (string value in array)
{
    Console.WriteLine(value);
}flora
fauna
mineral
plant

Internals

When we open up the ToArray instance method in IL Disassembler, we see that this method calls into the Array.Copy method. Array.Copy uses an external, native-code implementation.

Tip This provides superior performance over manually copying elements in your C# program.

We used the ArrayList's ToArray method to convert the contents of an ArrayList to a string array. The example here can be adapted to other reference and value types.

Convert ArrayList, array

Example

Internals

Convert `ArrayList`, array