Dictionary vs. Hashtable in C#: Why Prefer `Dictionary`?

Comparison of Dictionary and Hashtable in C#: Why is Dictionary recommended?

Q: Why is the Dictionary class more popular than the Hashtable class in C#?

A: Although Dictionary and Hashtable are conceptually similar, they differ in some key ways.

First of all, the Dictionary class is a generic type, which means it provides type safety. This ensures that you can only insert and retrieve numeric values ​​of the specified type, without type conversion.

In contrast, the Hashtable class is not generic. Therefore, it accepts objects of any type, which may cause runtime errors if the type is incorrect.

In addition, the internal implementation of Dictionary is based on Hashtable, which is reflected in the comments in the source code. This shows that Dictionary inherits the underlying functionality of Hashtable while addressing the limitations associated with it, such as lack of type safety.

Ultimately, by choosing Dictionary over Hashtable, you gain the advantages of type safety, ensuring the correctness and reliability of your code.

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