Record Set Pattern with an Example in C#

A record set is a concept commonly used in database management and programming. It represents a collection of records, where each record contains data organized into fields or attributes. Think of it as a table in a database or a spreadsheet where each row represents a record and each column represents a field.

Implementation in C#:
In C#, we use collections like arrays, lists, dictionaries, or custom classes to represent record sets.

Example:- using a custom class to represent records and a list to represent the record set.

Step 1: Define the Record Class
We start by creating a class to represent each record. This class will have properties to hold the data for each field in the record.


class Record
{
public int Id { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
public int Age { get; set; }

// Constructor to initialize the record
public Record(int id, string name, int age)
{
Id = id;
Name = name;
Age = age;
}

// Override ToString() to provide a string representation of the record
public override string ToString()
{
return $"ID: {Id}, Name: {Name}, Age: {Age}";
}
}


Step 2: Create the Record Set and Populate it

We use a collection, in this case, a list, to represent the record set. We then add instances of the Record class to this list to populate it.


List recordSet = new List();
// Adding records to the record set
recordSet.Add(new Record(1, "John", 30));
recordSet.Add(new Record(2, "Alice", 25));
recordSet.Add(new Record(3, "Bob", 35));


Step 3: Display All Records in the Record Set
We iterate over the record set and print out each record.

Console.WriteLine("All Records:");
foreach (var record in recordSet)
{
Console.WriteLine(record);
}


Step 4: Find and Display a Specific Record
We demonstrate finding a specific record in the record set based on some criteria, in this case, the ID.


int searchId = 2;
Record foundRecord = recordSet.Find(r => r.Id == searchId);
if (foundRecord != null)
{
Console.WriteLine($"\nRecord with ID {searchId}: {foundRecord}");
}
else
{
Console.WriteLine($"\nRecord with ID {searchId} not found.");


Step 5: Modify a Record
We show how to modify a record in the record set, again based on some criteria, such as the ID.


int modifyId = 1;
Record recordToModify = recordSet.Find(r => r.Id == modifyId);
if (recordToModify != null)
{
recordToModify.Age = 40;
Console.WriteLine($"\nModified Record with ID {modifyId}: {recordToModify}");
}
else
{
Console.WriteLine($"\nRecord with ID {modifyId} not found.");
}


Conclusion

This example illustrates how to implement and manipulate a record set in C#. We define a class to represent individual records, create a list to hold these records, populate the list with data, and perform operations such as displaying all records, finding specific records, and modifying records. This approach provides a structured way to work with collections of records in C#.