Question

What is the ‘best’ way to sort (or iterate) over a StringDictionary in order of Value (not Key)

E.g. Key – Value

• 1 – X label
• 2 – A label
• 3 – Other label

would give

• 2 – A label
• 3 – Other label
• 1 – X label

EDIT – I meant to say “using .NET 2.0 features”. Sorry, me bad…

Answer 1

Use LINQ:

var items = from k in d.Keys
                    orderby d[k] ascending
                    select k;

If you are restricted to C# 2.0 features, use this:

    IDictionary<string, string> d = new Dictionary<string, string>();
    d["1"] = "X label";
    d["2"] = "A label";
    d["3"] = "Other Label";

    List<KeyValuePair<string, string>> myList = new List<KeyValuePair<string, string>>(d);
    myList.Sort(
        delegate(KeyValuePair<string, string> a,
        KeyValuePair<string, string> b)
        {
            return a.Value.CompareTo(b.Value);
        }
    );

Note:
If you are using a StringDictionary instead of Dictionary, check out Anthony’s solution.