Explain the ElementAt(), and ElementAtOrDefault() functions in LINQ with C#.

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Ashutosh Kumar Verma · Answer

ElementAt() vs ElementAtOrDefault() in LINQ (C#)
ElementAt() and ElementAtOrDefault() are both used to retrieve the element at a specific index in a collection, but they handle out-of-range indexes differently.
and 
ElementAt()
Returns the element at the specified index.Throws an exception (ArgumentOutOfRangeException) if the index is out of range.
Example (Retrieving an Element by Index)
and 
using System;
using System.Linq;
using System.Collections.Generic;
class Program
{
   static void Main()
   {
       Listandlt;intandgt; numbers = new Listandlt;intandgt; { 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 };
       int element = numbers.ElementAt(2); // Gets the 3rd element (index starts at 0)
       Console.WriteLine("Element at index 2: " + element);
       // Output: Element at index 2: 30
       // Below code return out of range an error
       Listandlt;intandgt; numbers2 = new Listandlt;intandgt; { 10, 20, 30 };
       int element2 = numbers2.ElementAt(5); // Index 5 is out of range
       // Throws: ArgumentOutOfRangeException: "Index was out of range"
   }
}
and 
ElementAtOrDefault()
Returns the element at the specified index.If the index is out of range, it returns the default value (null for reference types,
0 for numeric types, false for bool).
and 
using System;
using System.Linq;
using System.Collections.Generic;
class Program
{
   static void Main()
   {
       Listandlt;intandgt; numbers = new Listandlt;intandgt; { 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 };
       int element = numbers.ElementAtOrDefault(2);
       Console.WriteLine("Element at index 2: " + element);
       // Output: Element at index 2: 30
       int outOfRangeElement = numbers.ElementAtOrDefault(5);
       Console.WriteLine("Element at index 5: " + outOfRangeElement);
       // Output: Element at index 5: 0 (default for int)
       // for string type
       Listandlt;stringandgt; names = new Listandlt;stringandgt; { "Alice", "Bob", "Charlie" };
       string result = names.ElementAtOrDefault(4);
       Console.WriteLine(result == null ? "No element found" : result);
       // Output: No element found (since index 4 is out of range)
   }
}
and 
When to use what?
When you are sure the index exists, use ElementAt().When the index is out of range, use ElementAtOrDefault() to prevent exceptions.
and 
Also, Read: 
What are LINQ Last(), and LastOrDefault() functions? and and

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Explain the ElementAt(), and ElementAtOrDefault() functions in LINQ with C#.

Amrith Chandran

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1 Answers

ElementAt() vs ElementAtOrDefault() in LINQ (C#)

ElementAt()

ElementAtOrDefault()

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