C# Arrays Vs Lists

Arrays and Lists are very similar data types in C#. Here’s a quick comparison with nice dot-points.

Define some Arrays and Lists

Arrays:

• Are better for collections of data that won’t be added to or removed from during runtime.
• Can be multi-dimensional.
• Are a method to group and organize data.
• are collections whose elements are accessed through an “index”: An integer, starting from zero, which corresponds to the element’s order in the array.
• Use statically-allocated memory, less suited to runtime modification.
• Store their data in a continuous memory allocation.

Lists:

• Can be added to or removed from easily during runtime.
• Are a method to group and organize data that allows for more modification operations to the data and itself.
• are collections whose elements can be accessed through an “index”: An integer, starting from zero, which corresponds to the element’s order in the array.
• Use dynamically assigned memory, allotted on request, significantly limiting or negating memory waste.
• Store their data in non-continuous memory allocations, where bits of data are scattered around memory, while maintaining links together.

This is just a basic intro into C# Lists and Arrays, but I find the easiest way to think of them is like this:

That will be enough to get through most situations requiring a collection of data, but for more advanced projects and usages, you’d need to understand a little more.