CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#
Januszoff
Januszoff

Reputation: 315

Returning 2 arrays from a function

I create 2 jagged arrays inside my function:

double[][] x = new double[i][];
double[][] y = new double[j][];

I perform some sort of operations on them, and want to return both of them as a result of the function. How can I do that?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 2418

Answers (2)

YtramX
YtramX

Reputation: 180

Tuples are a completely valid option as well. Some folks don't like them as a matter of opinion, and they're NOT great options for public APIs, but they're useful without adding yet another class to your namespace. You can go overboard with them, and four- and five-tuples exceed even my tolerance for them

        double[][] x = new double[i][];
        double[][] y = new double[j][];
        // Work your magic
        return new Tuple<double[][], double[][]>(x, y);

Item1 and Item2 will now be your double[][] arrays.

Upvotes: -1

D Stanley
D Stanley

Reputation: 152521

Well you could return an array of jagged arrays: double[][][]

public double[][][] GetData(int i, int j)
{
    double[][] x = new double[i][];
    double[][] y = new double[j][];

    return new [] {x, y};
}

but it may make more sense to define a class to give the results context. If you return two arrays what do they mean? Are they always in the same order? By just returning an array you leave a lot for the consumer to learn about the meaning of the return type. A class, on the other hand, would provide context:

public TwoArrays GetData(int i, int j)
{
    double[][] x = new double[i][];
    double[][] y = new double[j][];

    return new TwoArrays {X = x, Y = y};
}

public class TwoArrays
{
    public double[][] X  {get; set;}
    public double[][] Y  {get; set;}
}

Upvotes: 4

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