How to sort an OrderedDictionary using Linq in C# (using .NET 3.5)?

.net, c#, linq

Solution

Following will give you a sorted dictionary based on your OrderedDictionary.

var normalOrderedDictionary= od.Cast<DictionaryEntry>()
                       .OrderBy(r=> r.Value)
                       .ToDictionary(c=> c.Key, d=> d.Value);

There is one thing though, `ToDictionary` returned a regular dictionary but the order is maintained in the dictionary for the lookup, as soon as any new item is inserted in the dictionary, they the order cannot be guaranteed. To avoid this, use `SortedDictionary<TKey,TValue>` which has a constructor that takes a regular dictionary as parameter

var sortedDictionary = new SortedDictionary<string, string>(normalOrderedDictionary);

(Make sure to replace `string` with the correct types for Key and value in the above line).

Output:

foreach (var entry in sortedDictionary)
    Console.WriteLine("Key: {0} Value: {1}", entry.Key, entry.Value);

Key: a3 Value: 2
Key: a1 Value: 3
Key: a4 Value: 4
Key: a2 Value: 5

Problem

Original source

Related problems

• Building a sorted dictionary using ToDictionary