SortedDictionary.Values Property in C#

The SortedDictionary.Values property in C# is used to get a collection containing the values in the SortedDictionary<TKey, TValue>. This property returns a ValueCollection that preserves the sorted order of the original dictionary based on the keys.

Syntax

Following is the syntax for the Values property −

public SortedDictionary<TKey,TValue>.ValueCollection Values { get; }

Return Value

The property returns a SortedDictionary<TKey,TValue>.ValueCollection containing all the values in the sorted dictionary. The values maintain the same order as their corresponding keys in the sorted dictionary.

Using Values Property to Iterate Through Values

The following example demonstrates how to use the Values property to get and iterate through all values −

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

public class Demo {
    public static void Main() {
        SortedDictionary<int, string> sortedDict = new SortedDictionary<int, string>();
        sortedDict.Add(3, "Notebook");
        sortedDict.Add(1, "Ultrabook");
        sortedDict.Add(5, "Flash Drive");
        sortedDict.Add(2, "Alienware");
        sortedDict.Add(4, "Connector");

        Console.WriteLine("SortedDictionary key-value pairs:");
        foreach (var kvp in sortedDict) {
            Console.WriteLine($"Key = {kvp.Key}, Value = {kvp.Value}");
        }

        SortedDictionary<int, string>.ValueCollection values = sortedDict.Values;
        Console.WriteLine("\nValues (in sorted order by key):");
        foreach (string value in values) {
            Console.WriteLine(value);
        }
    }
}

The output of the above code is −

SortedDictionary key-value pairs:
Key = 1, Value = Ultrabook
Key = 2, Value = Alienware
Key = 3, Value = Notebook
Key = 4, Value = Connector
Key = 5, Value = Flash Drive

Values (in sorted order by key):
Ultrabook
Alienware
Notebook
Connector
Flash Drive

Using Values Property with String Keys

This example shows the Values property working with string keys, which are sorted alphabetically −

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

public class Demo {
    public static void Main() {
        SortedDictionary<string, int> priceDict = new SortedDictionary<string, int>();
        priceDict.Add("Laptop", 80000);
        priceDict.Add("Mouse", 1500);
        priceDict.Add("Keyboard", 3000);
        priceDict.Add("Monitor", 25000);

        Console.WriteLine("Product prices (sorted by product name):");
        foreach (var item in priceDict) {
            Console.WriteLine($"{item.Key}: ${item.Value}");
        }

        var prices = priceDict.Values;
        Console.WriteLine("\nPrice values only:");
        foreach (int price in prices) {
            Console.WriteLine($"${price}");
        }

        Console.WriteLine($"\nTotal products: {prices.Count}");
    }
}

The output of the above code is −

Product prices (sorted by product name):
Keyboard: $3000
Laptop: $80000
Monitor: $25000
Mouse: $1500

Price values only:
$3000
$80000
$25000
$1500

Total products: 4

Key Points

• The Values property returns a live view of the dictionary values. If the dictionary changes, the collection changes too.

• Values are returned in the same order as their corresponding keys in the sorted dictionary.

• The returned ValueCollection is read-only and cannot be modified directly.

• Time complexity for accessing the Values property is O(1), but iterating through all values takes O(n) time.

Conclusion

The SortedDictionary.Values property provides an efficient way to access all values in a sorted dictionary while maintaining the sorted order based on keys. This property is particularly useful when you need to iterate through values or perform operations on all values without accessing the keys.