CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#sorting
Paul
Paul

Reputation: 549

C# List Sort vs Inserting

I have a list of objects which I sort multiple times throughout code and when the user interacts with the program. I was wondering if it would be better to insert new items into the list rather than add to the end of the list and resort the entire list.

The code below is for importing browser bookmarks - Here I add a bunch of bookmarks to the List (this._MyLinks) which are Link objects and then sort the final List - Which I think is probably best in this given scenario....

    public void ImportBookmarks(string importFile)
    {         
        using (var file = File.OpenRead(importFile))
        {
            var reader = new NetscapeBookmarksReader();
            var bookmarks = reader.Read(file);               
            foreach (var b in bookmarks.AllLinks)
            {
                bool duplicate = this._MyLinks.Any(link => link._URL == b.Url);
                if(duplicate)
                {
                    continue;
                }
                Link bookmark = new Link();
                bookmark._URL = b.Url;
                bookmark._SiteName = b.Title;
                bookmark.BrowserPath = "";
                bookmark.BrowserName = "";

                if (bookmark.AddToConfig(true))
                {
                    this._MyLinks.Add(bookmark);
                }

            }
        }
        this._MyLinks = this._MyLinks.OrderBy(o => o._SiteName).ToList();
    }

Now a user also has the option to add their own links (one at a time). Whenever the user adds a link the ENTIRE list is sorted again using 

this._MyLinks = this._MyLinks.OrderBy(o => o._SiteName).ToList();

Is it better from a preformance standpoint (or just generally) to just insert the item directly into it's specified location? If so would you have suggestions on how I can go about doing that?

Thanks!

Upvotes: 1

Views: 334

Answers (1)

Servy
Servy

Reputation: 203837

Since you want a sorted set of data you should be using a more appropriate data structure, specifically a sorted data structure, rather than using an unsorted data structure that you re-sort every time, or that forces you to inefficiently add items to the middle of a list.

SortedSet is specifically designed to maintain a sorted set of data efficiently.

Upvotes: 3

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