how to access a string array outside loop

Question

 for (int z = 0; z < alParmValues.Count; z++)
        {
            //string[] def;
           string[] asd = alParmValues[z].ToString().Split(',');//this is of type string.collections and u cant cast it to a arraylist or array 
            //if (HUTT.clsParameterValues.bCustomObj == false)

             string[] def = alMethSign[z].ToString().Substring(alMethSign[z].ToString().IndexOf('(') + 1, alMethSign[z].ToString().IndexOf(')') - (alMethSign[z].ToString().IndexOf('(') + 1)).Split(',');
        }

I have to access both the string arrays outside the loop. Is there a better solution to this? I can't use an ArrayList or declare them as public so how can I access them?

Answer 1

The scope of both asd and def are limited to the body of the for loop. If you have to access them you need to declare them outside the loop. Is there a problem in putting them out?

Take a look at the Collection Classes Tutorial on MSDN.

Answer 2

To access something outside of a loop, just declare it outside of the loop, then work with it after your loop processing is done:

string[] arr = ...

for (int z = 0; z < alParmValues.Count; z++)
{
  // work with arr...
}

var item = arr[3]; // Accessed outside of loop.

However, there seem to be a few things wrong with your code. I'd recommend thinking a little bit more about the loop body and what you're trying to do there. Consider this line, for example:

for (int z = 0; z < alParmValues.Count; z++)
{
  // ...
  string[] asd = alParmValues[z].ToString().Split(',');

  // There aren't any more references to asd after this point in the loop,
  //   so this assignment serves no purpose and only keeps its last assigned
  //   value.
}

This assignment is pointless; every time you go through the loop, you just overwrite the previous value of asd, and you never use it later in the loop.

Answer 3

Both 'asd' and 'def' are string arrays whose scope is limited to the for loop. You cannot access them outside the loop. If you want to do so, try declaring them outside the for loop.

Answer 4

First, if you want access to the data extracted/computed inside the loop, you must declare a container for the results outside the loop, and then populate its values inside the loop.

Second, don't think about casting the arrays returned from the split method, but rather think about processing their contents.

Assuming that you want the combined results from all elements of the original alParmValues array in a single pair of results, I'd use something like the following pseudo-code. Of course, you'll need to fill in the type for your alParmValues and alMethSign elements, add semicolons, etc. (Because your question didn't explain the content and relationships between the two arrays being processed in your loop, I've just treated them independently.) This isn't complete code, but just a sketch to get you started:

ArrayList allValues = new ArrayList()
foreach (??? parameter in alParmValues) {
    foreach (String value in parameter.ToString().Split(',')) {
        allValues.add(value)
    }
}

ArrayList allMethSignValues = new ArrayList()
foreach (??? methSign in alMethSign) {
    String thisString = methSign.toString()
    int open = thisString.indexOf('(')
    int close = thisString.indexOf(')')
    String parenPart = thisString.substring(open + 1, close - open - 1)
    foreach (String value in parenPart.split(',')) {
        allMethSignValues.add(value)
    }
}