Enumerable.Distinct Method (System.Linq) (original) (raw)
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Returns distinct elements from a sequence by using the default equality comparer to compare values.
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generic <typename TSource>
[System::Runtime::CompilerServices::Extension]
static System::Collections::Generic::IEnumerable<TSource> ^ Distinct(System::Collections::Generic::IEnumerable<TSource> ^ source);public static System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerable<TSource> Distinct<TSource>(this System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerable<TSource> source);static member Distinct : seq<'Source> -> seq<'Source><Extension()>
Public Function Distinct(Of TSource) (source As IEnumerable(Of TSource)) As IEnumerable(Of TSource)Type Parameters
TSource
The type of the elements of source.
Parameters
source
The sequence to remove duplicate elements from.
Returns
An IEnumerable that contains distinct elements from the source sequence.
Exceptions
Examples
The following code example demonstrates how to use Distinct(IEnumerable) to return distinct elements from a sequence of integers.
List<int> ages = new List<int> { 21, 46, 46, 55, 17, 21, 55, 55 };
IEnumerable<int> distinctAges = ages.Distinct();
Console.WriteLine("Distinct ages:");
foreach (int age in distinctAges)
{
Console.WriteLine(age);
}
/*
This code produces the following output:
Distinct ages:
21
46
55
17
*/
' Create a list of integers.
Dim ages As New List(Of Integer)(New Integer() _
{21, 46, 46, 55, 17, 21, 55, 55})
' Select the unique numbers in the List.
Dim distinctAges As IEnumerable(Of Integer) = ages.Distinct()
Dim output As New System.Text.StringBuilder("Distinct ages:" & vbCrLf)
For Each age As Integer In distinctAges
output.AppendLine(age)
Next
' Display the output.
Console.WriteLine(output.ToString)
' This code produces the following output:
'
' Distinct ages:
' 21
' 46
' 55
' 17
If you want to return distinct elements from sequences of objects of some custom data type, you have to implement the IEquatable generic interface in the class. The following code example shows how to implement this interface in a custom data type and provide GetHashCode and Equals methods.
public class MyProduct : IEquatable<MyProduct>
{
public string Name { get; set; }
public int Code { get; set; }
public bool Equals(MyProduct other)
{
//Check whether the compared object is null.
if (Object.ReferenceEquals(other, null)) return false;
//Check whether the compared object references the same data.
if (Object.ReferenceEquals(this, other)) return true;
//Check whether the products' properties are equal.
return Code.Equals(other.Code) && Name.Equals(other.Name);
}
// If Equals() returns true for a pair of objects
// then GetHashCode() must return the same value for these objects.
public override int GetHashCode()
{
//Get hash code for the Name field if it is not null.
int hashProductName = Name == null ? 0 : Name.GetHashCode();
//Get hash code for the Code field.
int hashProductCode = Code.GetHashCode();
//Calculate the hash code for the product.
return hashProductName ^ hashProductCode;
}
}
Public Class Product
Implements IEquatable(Of Product)
Public Property Name As String
Public Property Code As Integer
Public Function Equals1(
ByVal other As Product
) As Boolean Implements IEquatable(Of Product).Equals
' Check whether the compared object is null.
If other Is Nothing Then Return False
' Check whether the compared object references the same data.
If Me Is Other Then Return True
' Check whether the products' properties are equal.
Return Code.Equals(other.Code) AndAlso Name.Equals(other.Name)
End Function
Public Overrides Function GetHashCode() As Integer
' Get hash code for the Name field if it is not null.
Dim hashProductName = If(Name Is Nothing, 0, Name.GetHashCode())
' Get hash code for the Code field.
Dim hashProductCode = Code.GetHashCode()
' Calculate the hash code for the product.
Return hashProductName Xor hashProductCode
End Function
End Class
After you implement this interface, you can use a sequence of Product objects in the Distinct(IEnumerable) method, as shown in the following example:
MyProduct[] products = { new MyProduct { Name = "apple", Code = 9 },
new MyProduct { Name = "orange", Code = 4 },
new MyProduct { Name = "apple", Code = 9 },
new MyProduct { Name = "lemon", Code = 12 } };
// Exclude duplicates.
IEnumerable<MyProduct> noduplicates =
products.Distinct();
foreach (var product in noduplicates)
Console.WriteLine(product.Name + " " + product.Code);
/*
This code produces the following output:
apple 9
orange 4
lemon 12
*/
Dim products() As Product =
{New Product With {.Name = "apple", .Code = 9},
New Product With {.Name = "orange", .Code = 4},
New Product With {.Name = "apple", .Code = 9},
New Product With {.Name = "lemon", .Code = 12}}
' Exclude duplicates.
Dim noduplicates = products.Distinct()
For Each product In noduplicates
Console.WriteLine(product.Name & " " & product.Code)
Next
' This code produces the following output:
'
' apple 9
' orange 4
' lemon 12
'
Remarks
This method is implemented by using deferred execution. The immediate return value is an object that stores all the information that is required to perform the action. The query represented by this method is not executed until the object is enumerated either by calling its GetEnumerator method directly or by using foreach in C# or For Each in Visual Basic.
The Distinct(IEnumerable) method returns an unordered sequence that contains no duplicate values. It uses the default equality comparer, Default, to compare values.
In Visual Basic query expression syntax, a Distinct clause translates to an invocation of Distinct.
The default equality comparer, Default, is used to compare values of the types that implement the IEquatable generic interface. To compare a custom data type, you need to implement this interface and provide your own GetHashCode and Equals methods for the type.
For an example that uses IEqualityComparer to define a custom comparer, see Distinct(IEnumerable, IEqualityComparer).