#778 – A struct Isn’t Mutable When Used in a Collection

A struct is normally mutable, i.e. you can modify the values of its members directly.

However, if a struct is used in a collection class, like a List<T>, you can’t modify its members.  Referencing the item by indexing into the collection returns a copy of the struct, which you can’t modify.  To change an item in the list, you need to create a new instance of the struct.

            List<DogCollarInfo> collarList = new List<DogCollarInfo>();

            // Create a few instances of struct and add to list
            collarList.Add(new DogCollarInfo(0.5, 14.0));
            collarList.Add(new DogCollarInfo(0.3, 12.0));

            // Compile-time error: Can't modify '...' because it's not a variable
            collarList[1].Length = 22.0;

            // Do this instead
            collarList[1] = new DogCollarInfo(collarList[1].Width, 22.0);

If you store the structs in an array, then you can change the value of one of the struct’s members.

            DogCollarInfo[] arr = new DogCollarInfo[2];
            arr[0] = new DogCollarInfo(0.5, 14.0);
            arr[0].Length = 5.0;  // OK