c# - List with timeout/expire ability

Question

I need a function like this:

AddToList(txtName, timeExpire);

It looks like self-descriptive, the item will automatically expire and removed from the list.

I couldn't imagine how to do that. Can anyone give me a clue?

Answer 1

If you're targeting .NET 4 or above, use the MemoryCache (or derive your custom implementation from ObjectCache).

Back before 4, if you wanted a cache in your app you could simply snag System.Web.Cache and use that in any .NET app. It didn't have any real dependencies on any "web" code, but it did require you reference System.Web.dll. It seemed odd (like referencing Microsoft.VisualBasic.dll from a C# app), but didn't actually affect your application negatively.

With the advent of the Client Profile, breaking dependencies between desktop-centric code and server-centric code became important. So the ObjectCache was introduced so that desktop app (not sure about silverlight, wp7) developers could break that dependency and be able to target just the client profile.