This base interface for a collection of key/value elements defines the indexer (in C#, the this property; in VB.NET, the property marked as Default), as well as the Keys and Values properties that return collections containing the dictionary's keys or values, respectively. This interface also defines the methods by which the entries may be modified, such as Add( ), Clear( ), and Remove( ).

public interface IDictionary : ICollection, IEnumerable {
// Public Instance Properties
   public bool IsFixedSize{get; }
   public bool IsReadOnly{get; }
   public ICollection Keys{get; }
   public object this[object key]{set; get; }
   public ICollection Values{get; }
// Public Instance Methods
   public void Add(object key, object value);
   public void Clear( );
   public bool Contains(object key);
   public IDictionaryEnumerator GetEnumerator( );
   public void Remove(object key);
}

Implemented By

DictionaryBase, Hashtable, SortedList, System.Collections.Specialized.{HybridDictionary, ListDictionary}

Returned By

DictionaryBase.Dictionary, System.Environment.GetEnvironmentVariables( )

Passed To

Hashtable.Hashtable( ), SortedList.SortedList( ), System.Collections.Specialized.CollectionsUtil.CreateCaseInsensitiveHashtable( ), System.Diagnostics.EventLogInstaller.{Install( ), Rollback( ), Uninstall( )}