C# Academy · Lesson

Object and Collection Initializers

Set properties at creation time concisely.

Lesson 3 of 413 steps

Object and Collection Initializers is a free C# Academy lesson on CoddyKit. This is lesson 3 of 4. You can read the complete lesson below for free — then practise it hands-on in the browser with a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor. It is part of the C# Academy learning path, and your progress syncs across the web and the CoddyKit app. The C# Academy course includes 4 lessons in total.

What Is an Object Initializer?

An object initializer sets public properties or fields right after new, inside { }, without writing a constructor for each combination.

using System;

class Person
{
    public string Name { get; set; }
    public int Age { get; set; }
}

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var p = new Person { Name = "Ada", Age = 36 };
        Console.WriteLine(p.Name + ", " + p.Age);
    }
}

Initializer Syntax

List property assignments separated by commas inside the braces. They run after the constructor completes.

using System;

class Car
{
    public string Make { get; set; }
    public string Model { get; set; }
    public int Year { get; set; }
}

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var car = new Car
        {
            Make = "Toyota",
            Model = "Corolla",
            Year = 2022
        };
        Console.WriteLine(car.Year + " " + car.Make + " " + car.Model);
    }
}

Combining Constructor and Initializer

You can call a constructor AND use an initializer. The constructor runs first, then the initializer assigns the listed properties.

using System;

class Widget
{
    public string Id { get; }
    public string Label { get; set; }

    public Widget(string id) { Id = id; }
}

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var w = new Widget("w1") { Label = "Submit" };
        Console.WriteLine(w.Id + ": " + w.Label);
    }
}

Initializing Only Some Properties

You only list the properties you care about; the rest keep their defaults. This makes initializers flexible.

using System;

class Settings
{
    public bool DarkMode { get; set; } = false;
    public int Volume { get; set; } = 50;
    public string Lang { get; set; } = "en";
}

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var s = new Settings { DarkMode = true };
        Console.WriteLine(s.DarkMode + ", " + s.Volume + ", " + s.Lang);
    }
}

Collection Initializers

A collection initializer fills a list, set, or array at creation time using { } with comma-separated elements.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var nums = new List<int> { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 };
        Console.WriteLine("Count: " + nums.Count);
        Console.WriteLine("Sum: " + Sum(nums));
    }

    static int Sum(List<int> list)
    {
        int t = 0;
        foreach (var n in list) t += n;
        return t;
    }
}

How Collection Initializers Work

The compiler turns each element into an Add(...) call. Any type with an Add method and IEnumerable supports this syntax.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var names = new List<string> { "Ann", "Bob", "Cara" };
        foreach (var n in names)
            Console.WriteLine(n);
    }
}

Dictionary Initializers

Dictionaries can be initialized with key/value pairs in braces, very handy for lookup tables.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var ages = new Dictionary<string, int>
        {
            ["Ann"] = 30,
            ["Bob"] = 25
        };
        Console.WriteLine("Ann is " + ages["Ann"]);
    }
}

Nested Object Initializers

An object initializer can initialize nested objects, building a small object graph in one expression.

using System;

class Address
{
    public string City { get; set; }
}

class Customer
{
    public string Name { get; set; }
    public Address Home { get; set; } = new Address();
}

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var c = new Customer
        {
            Name = "Lin",
            Home = new Address { City = "Tokyo" }
        };
        Console.WriteLine(c.Name + " in " + c.Home.City);
    }
}

Collections of Objects

Combine both features: initialize a list whose elements are themselves built with object initializers.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

class Item
{
    public string Name { get; set; }
    public decimal Price { get; set; }
}

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var cart = new List<Item>
        {
            new Item { Name = "Pen", Price = 1.5m },
            new Item { Name = "Book", Price = 9.0m }
        };
        decimal total = 0;
        foreach (var i in cart) total += i.Price;
        Console.WriteLine("Total: " + total);
    }
}

Initializers and init Properties

Object initializers are the way to set init-only properties, since they can only be assigned during initialization.

using System;

class Config
{
    public string Env { get; init; }
    public int Retries { get; init; }
}

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var c = new Config { Env = "prod", Retries = 3 };
        Console.WriteLine(c.Env + " / " + c.Retries);
    }
}

Putting It Together

Initializers make construction declarative and readable, especially for configuration objects and test data.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

class Team
{
    public string Name { get; set; }
    public List<string> Members { get; set; } = new List<string>();
}

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var t = new Team
        {
            Name = "Alpha",
            Members = { "Ann", "Bob", "Cara" }
        };
        Console.WriteLine(t.Name + " has " + t.Members.Count + " members");
    }
}

Quick Check

Test your understanding of initializers.

Answer it in the interactive lesson

Recap

Object initializers set public members in { } after new, running after the constructor. Collection initializers add elements via implicit Add calls, and dictionaries support key/value pairs. Both can nest, work with init properties, and make construction concise and declarative.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

class Demo
{
    public string Name { get; set; }
    public List<int> Nums { get; set; } = new List<int>();
}

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var d = new Demo { Name = "x", Nums = { 1, 2, 3 } };
        Console.WriteLine(d.Name + " " + d.Nums.Count);
    }
}

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Frequently Asked Questions

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What will I learn in “Object and Collection Initializers”?

Set properties at creation time concisely. You practise C# Academy with hands-on code you run directly in the browser, and a 24/7 AI tutor answers your questions as you work through the lesson.

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