In C# should I be using collections over normal arrays?

What’s the difference and what are the benefits of using collections?

Array is just a sequential memory location, that stores elements of the same type.
A collection is a datastructure that abstracts the process of managing elements (calculating indices, resizing arrays, iterators, map-reduce, ...), And generalizes it with interfaces, so you can change the storage backend later on (eg. From ArrayList to LinkedList).

@metamourge oh I see. And this is coming from someone who’s honestly still relatively new to C#’s concepts but does LINQ have to do with Collections?

@Bubbles
I'm not a C#-dev, but from what I know, LINQ can be applied to process elements of DS, that implement a certain interface.

@metamourge oh sorry for the confusion but thanks for the explanations!

@kescherRant I think it needs a collection but I could be completely wrong

@Bubbles I'm a C# dev and I think you are right.

I rarely use arrays because of their fixed size.

Arrays have fixed size and don't give you methods for adding/removing items. Collections have more features and solve their specific tasks. List manages its own array inside and allows to add/insert/remove items and implements sorting. HashSet stores unique items and allows quickly check if an item is in collection. Dictionary stores (key, value) pairs. Every time you need a collection to store items you should choose the best option for your requirements

@Bubbles LINQ works with IEnumerable<T>. All collections including arrays implement this interface

Arrays are for when you have a fixed amount of data, quantity known in advance, and not changing throughout the lifetime of the array. If that is not the case, use a List<T> or something else.

LINQ is for performing queries and operations over any collection that implements IEnumerable<T> and/or IQueryable<T>. This will apply to almost all .NET collection types.

@Gxost @SomeNone thank you both for the explanations it helps a lot!

Arrays for fixed size data or for low level stuff (implementing your own data structures)

Collections for general use