Deleting items from a list

Just a quick one to point out a common pitfall when working with list objects. To remove objects from a list you need to use an iterator.

In X++ iterators require the developer to write a loop with calls to more() and next() to check if there are any elements left and make iterator advance to the next element.

Not so when you’re going to delete elements from the list. A call to delete() also advances to the next available element. It makes sense, but if you forget it could make you scratch your head for a few minutes.

So don’t write what I first wrote:

    list = new List(Types::String);
    list.addEnd('a'); list.addEnd('b'); list.addEnd('c'); list.addEnd('d');
 
    iter = new ListIterator(list);
 
    while (iter.more())
    {
        value = iter.value();
 
        if (true) // do a real check
        {
            iter.delete();
        }
 
        iter.next();
    }
 
    info(list.toString());

But rather do this:

    while (iter.more())
    {
        value = iter.value();
 
        if (true) // check value
        {
            iter.delete();
        }
        else
        {
            iter.next();
        }
    }
 
    info(list.toString());

Either do a delete() or a next(). Not both. The same goes for maps and sets.

And by the way, if you want to do anything other than delete elements it’s highly recommended you use enumerators instead of iterators. The reason is explained here on MSDN.