Question

I’m looking for the most efficient way to store and manage a large byte array in memory. I will have the need to both insert and delete bytes from any position within the array.

At first, I was thinking that a regular array was best.

byte[] buffer = new byte[ArraySize];

This would allow me to access any byte within the array. I can also resize the array. However, there doesn’t appear to be any built-in support for shifting or moving items within the array.

One option is to have a loop to move items one by one but that sounds horribly inefficient in C#. Another option is to create a new array and copy bytes over to the correct position, but that requires copying all data in the array.

Is there no better option?

Answer 1

Actually, I just found the Buffer Class, which appears ideal for what I need.

It looks like the BlockCopy method will block copy a bunch of items and supports copying within the same array, and even correctly handles overlapping items.