Copy the entire LinkedList to Array in C#

The LinkedList<T> class in C# provides the CopyTo() method to copy all elements from a LinkedList to an array. This method is useful when you need to convert a dynamic LinkedList structure into a fixed-size array for processing or storage.

Syntax

Following is the syntax for copying a LinkedList to an array −

linkedList.CopyTo(array, arrayIndex);

Parameters

• array − The one-dimensional array that is the destination of elements copied from LinkedList.

• arrayIndex − The zero-based index in array at which copying begins.

Using CopyTo() Starting from Index 0

Example

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

public class Demo {
   public static void Main(){
      LinkedList<int> list = new LinkedList<int>();
      list.AddLast(100);
      list.AddLast(200);
      list.AddLast(300);
      
      int[] strArr = new int[5];
      list.CopyTo(strArr, 0);
      
      foreach(int str in strArr){
         Console.WriteLine(str);
      }
   }
}

The output of the above code is −

100
200
300
0
0

Using CopyTo() Starting from a Specific Index

Example

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

public class Demo {
   public static void Main(){
      LinkedList<int> list = new LinkedList<int>();
      list.AddLast(100);
      list.AddLast(200);
      list.AddLast(300);
      
      int[] strArr = new int[10];
      list.CopyTo(strArr, 4);
      
      foreach(int str in strArr){
         Console.WriteLine(str);
      }
   }
}

The output of the above code is −

0
0
0
0
100
200
300
0
0
0

Using CopyTo() with String LinkedList

Example

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

public class Demo {
   public static void Main(){
      LinkedList<string> list = new LinkedList<string>();
      list.AddLast("Apple");
      list.AddLast("Orange");
      list.AddLast("Banana");
      
      string[] fruits = new string[5];
      list.CopyTo(fruits, 1);
      
      Console.WriteLine("Array contents:");
      for(int i = 0; i < fruits.Length; i++){
         Console.WriteLine($"Index {i}: {fruits[i] ?? "null"}");
      }
   }
}

The output of the above code is −

Array contents:
Index 0: null
Index 1: Apple
Index 2: Orange
Index 3: Banana
Index 4: null

Conclusion

The CopyTo() method provides an efficient way to copy all elements from a LinkedList to an array. You can specify the starting index in the destination array, making it flexible for inserting LinkedList elements at any position within the target array.