Dynamic Variable Name Use in C# for WinForms

Question

Not sure what is the best way to word this, but I am wondering if a dynamic variable name access can be done in C# (3.5).

Here is the code I am currently looking to "smarten up" or make more elegant with a loop.

    private void frmFilter_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        chkCategory1.Text = categories[0];
        chkCategory2.Text = categories[1];
        chkCategory3.Text = categories[2];
        chkCategory4.Text = categories[3];
        chkCategory5.Text = categories[4];
        chkCategory6.Text = categories[5];
        chkCategory7.Text = categories[6];
        chkCategory8.Text = categories[7];
        chkCategory9.Text = categories[8];
        chkCategory10.Text = categories[9];
        chkCategory11.Text = categories[10];
        chkCategory12.Text = categories[11];  


    }

Is there a way to do something like ("chkCategory" + i.ToString()).Text?

Answer 1

You don't need dynamic for that. Put chkCategory1 - 12 in an array, and loop through it with a for loop. I would suggest you keep it around in a field and initialize it at form construction time, because chkCategory seems to be related. But if you want a simple example of how to do it in that simple method, then it would be something like this:

private void frmFilter_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    var chkCategories = new [] { chkCategory1, chkCategory2, chkCategory3, .......... };
    for(int i = 0 ; i < chkCategories.Length ; i++ ) 
        chkCategoies[i].Text = categories[i];
}

You know more about the application, so you could perhaps avoid writing out all the control names - for instance, if they are placed on a common parent control, then you could find them by going through it's children.