❔ Adding to Arrays Via Methods

I am having trouble getting arrays to be changed by methods. I tried lists as well. Please send help.

You can't append items to arrays
They're fixed-size
Use a List<T>

string[] plants = {};

createPlant(ref plants);
createPlant(ref plants);
createPlant(ref plants);
Console.WriteLine(plants[0] + plants[1]);
Console.ReadLine();
// avolva aventine  
static void createPlant(ref string[] plants)
{
    Console.WriteLine("What is the Name of your Plant?");
    plants = new string[] { Console.ReadLine() };
    Console.Write("Completed! Push any Button to Exit.");
    Console.ReadLine();
    //may just have to for now.
    string print = ""; 
    for (int i = 0; i < plants.Length; i++) 
    {
        Console.Write(plants[i] + ", ");
    }
    Console.WriteLine(print);
    Console.ReadLine();
}

@Angius thanks but look at this

its error after error

The parameter is declared as a string[], so obviously it won't take a List<string>
Also, in your CreatePlant() method you crate a brand new array
You don't add anything, you replace

can you explain that

What's to explain there?
Square peg doesn't fit into a round hole
int and string are different types
So are boolean and UngaBunga

where is the square peg

So are string[] and List<string>
List<string> is the square peg
The method has a round hole, string[] type parameter
List<T> is not T[]

oh ignore the writeline

Nothing to do with any writeline

right here where is the []

and ignore line 27 for now
im just trying to get the errors off the first part until it functions

Aight, so, why do you try to pass ref List<string> plants as a parameter?
Do you also use Console.WriteLine(string "message")?

apparently to change a variable in a function you have to use ref
I tried just "plants" but it said it has to be written like a list

Yeah, in the parameter declaration

was there a better way of doing that

When you call the method, you don't supply a type
You just pass the param

wym

oh

like this?

Not here
Jesus
$helloworld

Written interactive course https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/users/dotnet/collections/yz26f8y64n7k07
Videos https://dotnet.microsoft.com/learn/videos

im used to javascript

You really should brush up the basics

its much easier when I could do something like:

appendItem("plants", "");
which I dont even know if thats a real thing

And you can

because I learned from code.org

var plants = new List<string>();
plants.Add("carrot");
plants.Add("hydrangea");
plants.Add("juniper");

List has the .Add() method

yeah see I get that
but I called plants in main
and im trying to add in a method
and its causing tons of errors to get it through the parameters
like in js, everything is global pretty much
I just say:

var x = 1

function addOne() {
x ++;
}

and var becomes 2 if I call the function
in c# i'm just lost with methods and why they are so isolated
you have to use ref for some reason for it to change anything, and even still its like a maze to get the errors to be broken

For reference types, you don't need to use ref

List<string> plants = new List<string>();
createPlant(ref List<string> plants);
Console.ReadLine();

static void createPlant(plants)
{
    Console.WriteLine("What is the Name of your Plant?");
    plants.Add(Console.ReadLine());
    Console.Write("Completed! Push any Button to Exit.");
    Console.ReadLine();
    //may just have to for now.
    string print = ""; 
    for (int i = 0; i < plants.Length; i++) 
    {
        Console.Write(plants[i] + ", ");
    }
    Console.WriteLine(print);
    Console.ReadLine();
}

oh let me read this rq

And here's the fix to your issue
You declare types when declaring the method
There and only ever there
When calling that method, you don't declare any types
Just pass the params

Cool, what does the error say

argument 1 must be passed with the 'ref' keyword

Well, try that

oh wow
ok brb
ok yeah its cleared up
next issue though

Again, what does the error say?
probably says that .Length property doesn't exist on List<T>

That's because those are the properties List<T> has: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/system.collections.generic.list-1?view=net-7.0#properties
.Length is not among them
.Count, however, is

are there any substitutes
ah
thats weird
i'll try it
oh wow thats wonderful
it works
ok now I need a few clarifications so I really grasp this
this is whats confusing me
its the whole parameters and redeclarations thing

The method declares what it wants

void Foo(string x, int y) {}

like this one, that wants a string and an int
When calling that method, you don't need to say that you're passing a string

hold up

No need to do

string x = "hello";
Foo(string x, int 69);

because the method will not let you pass anything else. You just do

string x = "hello";
Foo(x, 69);

wow
so ref only needs to be sent in the declaration of the method

Admittedly, I haven't really worked with ref

it seems so obvious, swapping syntaxes really gets me a headache

To begin with, List<T> already is a reference type

a what?

You're already passing a reference to it, not a copy
$refvsvalue

In C# there are value types — mostly the basic ones like int, bool, etc
And reference types — custom classes and stuff
Value types, when passed, create a copy
Reference types pass a reference

oh
so I only use ref when I need to make the copy change something outside

ref coerces value types to be passed as reference

wait
so saying a variable prints it?
I see you wrote list

That list without a semicolon is just something the repl of the bot does

ah
I had trouble earlier with printing arrays

Here's how ref works for value types
Without ref, the change happened inside of the method, the copy of the number was changed
With ref, the change happened inside and outside of the method

Sorry my network is acting up. So I get it now! reference = ref. if I did val to a ref then would it act like a value?

No
You can pass a value type as a reference, but you can't turn a reference type into a value type

hm
and I know this is off topic
but what do you do for the " cannot implicitly convert type 'string' to 'int' " error

int.Parse() for example
Or better yet, int.TryParse()
But this one's a little more complex

what
what do those mean

what does the word parse mean

It's the name of the method...?
Like Console.WriteLine()

I'm guessing over all it converts

It parses a string into a number, yeah
You could say converts, sure

and one last question
how do you close the program through code

Once it completes, it'll just close
IIRC you can just return from it as well

ah ty
thats everything, thank you for your help!

Anytime

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