Question

How can I do the Ruby method ‘Flatten’ Ruby Method in C#. This method flattens a jagged array into a single-dimensional array.

For example:

s = [ 1, 2, 3 ]           #=> [1, 2, 3] t = [ 4, 5, 6, [7, 8] ]   #=> [4, 5, 6, [7, 8]] a = [ s, t, 9, 10 ]       #=> [[1, 2, 3], [4, 5, 6, [7, 8]], 9, 10] a.flatten                 #=> [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 

Answer 1

Recursive solution:

IEnumerable Flatten(IEnumerable array) {     foreach(var item in array)     {         if(item is IEnumerable)         {             foreach(var subitem in Flatten((IEnumerable)item))             {                 yield return subitem;             }         }         else         {             yield return item;         }     } } 

EDIT 1:

Jon explains in the comments why it cannot be a generic method, take a look!

EDIT 2:

Matt suggested making it an extension method. Here you go, just replace the first line with:

public static IEnumerable Flatten(this IEnumerable array) 

and you can use it like this:

foreach(var item in myArray.Flatten()) { ... }