How to Avoid Firing Observablecollection.Collectionchanged Multiple Times When Replacing All Elements or Adding a Collection of Elements

How to Avoid Firing ObservableCollection.CollectionChanged Multiple Times When Replacing All Elements Or Adding a Collection of Elements

ColinE is right with all his informations. I only want to add my subclass of ObservableCollection that I use for this specific case.

public class SmartCollection<T> : ObservableCollection<T> {
    public SmartCollection()
        : base() {
    }

    public SmartCollection(IEnumerable<T> collection)
        : base(collection) {
    }

    public SmartCollection(List<T> list)
        : base(list) {
    }

    public void AddRange(IEnumerable<T> range) {
        foreach (var item in range) {
            Items.Add(item);
        }

        this.OnPropertyChanged(new PropertyChangedEventArgs("Count"));
        this.OnPropertyChanged(new PropertyChangedEventArgs("Item[]"));
        this.OnCollectionChanged(new NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs(NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Reset));
    }

    public void Reset(IEnumerable<T> range) {
        this.Items.Clear();

        AddRange(range);
    }
}

Can I somehow temporarily disable WPF data binding changes?

A very quick and easy way is to subclass ObservableCollection and suspend notifications when AddRange is called. See the following blog post for clarification.

What event is fired when I change an element on the observable collection?

Netaholic gave a good part of the answer, but just to complete and put some clear visible code :

public void Demo()
{
    ObservableCollection<String> collec = new ObservableCollection<String>() {"hello"};
    collec.CollectionChanged += CollectionChanged;
    collec[0] = "goodbye";
}
void CollectionChanged(object sender, NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs e)
{
    switch (e.Action)
    {
        case NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Add:
            break;
        case NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Move:
            break;
        case NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Remove:
            break;
        case NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Replace:
            Debug.WriteLine("The event you re expecting");
            break;
        case NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Reset:
            break;
        default:
            break;
    }
}

In the second parameter, you 'll find the index and object that is replaced

Regards

When Clearing an ObservableCollection, There are No Items in e.OldItems

Ok, even though I still wish that ObservableCollection behaved as I wished ... the code below is what I ended up doing. Basically, I created a new collection of T called TrulyObservableCollection and overrided the ClearItems method which I then used to raise a Clearing event.

In the code that uses this TrulyObservableCollection, I use this Clearing event to loop through the items that are still in the collection at that point to do the detach on the event that I was wishing to detach from.

Hope this approach helps someone else as well.

public class TrulyObservableCollection<T> : ObservableCollection<T>
{
    public event EventHandler<EventArgs> Clearing;
    protected virtual void OnClearing(EventArgs e)
    {
        if (Clearing != null)
            Clearing(this, e);
    }

    protected override void ClearItems()
    {
        OnClearing(EventArgs.Empty);
        base.ClearItems();
    }
}

ObservableCollection Doesn't support AddRange method, so I get notified for each item added, besides what about INotifyCollectionChanging?

First of all, please vote and comment on the API request on the .NET repo.

Here's my optimized version of the ObservableRangeCollection (optimized version of James Montemagno's one).

It performs very fast and is meant to reuse existing elements when possible and avoid unnecessary events, or batching them into one, when possible.
The ReplaceRange method replaces/removes/adds the required elements by the appropriate indices and batches the possible events.

Tested on Xamarin.Forms UI with great results for very frequent updates to the large collection (5-7 updates per second).

Note:
Since WPF is not accustomed to work with range operations, it will throw a NotSupportedException, when using the ObservableRangeCollection from below in WPF UI-related work, such as binding it to a ListBox etc. (you can still use the ObservableRangeCollection<T> if not bound to UI).

However you can use the WpfObservableRangeCollection<T> workaround.

The real solution would be creating a CollectionView that knows how to deal with range operations, but I still didn't have the time to implement this.

RAW Code - open as Raw, then do Ctrl+A to select all, then Ctrl+C to copy.

// Licensed to the .NET Foundation under one or more agreements.
// The .NET Foundation licenses this file to you under the MIT license.
// See the LICENSE file in the project root for more information.

using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Collections.Specialized;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Diagnostics;

namespace System.Collections.ObjectModel
{
  /// <summary>
  /// Implementation of a dynamic data collection based on generic Collection<T>,
  /// implementing INotifyCollectionChanged to notify listeners
  /// when items get added, removed or the whole list is refreshed.
  /// </summary>
  public class ObservableRangeCollection<T> : ObservableCollection<T>
  {
    //------------------------------------------------------
    //
    //  Private Fields
    //
    //------------------------------------------------------

    #region Private Fields    
    [NonSerialized]
    private DeferredEventsCollection _deferredEvents;
    #endregion Private Fields

    //------------------------------------------------------
    //
    //  Constructors
    //
    //------------------------------------------------------

    #region Constructors
    /// <summary>
    /// Initializes a new instance of ObservableCollection that is empty and has default initial capacity.
    /// </summary>
    public ObservableRangeCollection() { }

    /// <summary>
    /// Initializes a new instance of the ObservableCollection class that contains
    /// elements copied from the specified collection and has sufficient capacity
    /// to accommodate the number of elements copied.
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="collection">The collection whose elements are copied to the new list.</param>
    /// <remarks>
    /// The elements are copied onto the ObservableCollection in the
    /// same order they are read by the enumerator of the collection.
    /// </remarks>
    /// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException"> collection is a null reference </exception>
    public ObservableRangeCollection(IEnumerable<T> collection) : base(collection) { }

    /// <summary>
    /// Initializes a new instance of the ObservableCollection class
    /// that contains elements copied from the specified list
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="list">The list whose elements are copied to the new list.</param>
    /// <remarks>
    /// The elements are copied onto the ObservableCollection in the
    /// same order they are read by the enumerator of the list.
    /// </remarks>
    /// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException"> list is a null reference </exception>
    public ObservableRangeCollection(List<T> list) : base(list) { }

    #endregion Constructors

    //------------------------------------------------------
    //
    //  Public Methods
    //
    //------------------------------------------------------

    #region Public Methods

    /// <summary>
    /// Adds the elements of the specified collection to the end of the <see cref="ObservableCollection{T}"/>.
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="collection">
    /// The collection whose elements should be added to the end of the <see cref="ObservableCollection{T}"/>.
    /// The collection itself cannot be null, but it can contain elements that are null, if type T is a reference type.
    /// </param>
    /// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException"><paramref name="collection"/> is null.</exception>
    public void AddRange(IEnumerable<T> collection)
    {
      InsertRange(Count, collection);
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Inserts the elements of a collection into the <see cref="ObservableCollection{T}"/> at the specified index.
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="index">The zero-based index at which the new elements should be inserted.</param>
    /// <param name="collection">The collection whose elements should be inserted into the List<T>.
    /// The collection itself cannot be null, but it can contain elements that are null, if type T is a reference type.</param>                
    /// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException"><paramref name="collection"/> is null.</exception>
    /// <exception cref="ArgumentOutOfRangeException"><paramref name="index"/> is not in the collection range.</exception>
    public void InsertRange(int index, IEnumerable<T> collection)
    {
      if (collection == null)
        throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(collection));
      if (index < 0)
        throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(nameof(index));
      if (index > Count)
        throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(nameof(index));

      if (collection is ICollection<T> countable)
      {
        if (countable.Count == 0)
        {
          return;
        }
      }
      else if (!ContainsAny(collection))
      {
        return;
      }

      CheckReentrancy();

      //expand the following couple of lines when adding more constructors.
      var target = (List<T>)Items;
      target.InsertRange(index, collection);

      OnEssentialPropertiesChanged();

      if (!(collection is IList list))
        list = new List<T>(collection);

      OnCollectionChanged(new NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs(NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Add, list, index));
    }

    /// <summary> 
    /// Removes the first occurence of each item in the specified collection from the <see cref="ObservableCollection{T}"/>.
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="collection">The items to remove.</param>        
    /// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException"><paramref name="collection"/> is null.</exception>
    public void RemoveRange(IEnumerable<T> collection)
    {
      if (collection == null)
        throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(collection));

      if (Count == 0)
      {
        return;
      }
      else if (collection is ICollection<T> countable)
      {
        if (countable.Count == 0)
          return;
        else if (countable.Count == 1)
          using (IEnumerator<T> enumerator = countable.GetEnumerator())
          {
            enumerator.MoveNext();
            Remove(enumerator.Current);
            return;
          }
      }
      else if (!(ContainsAny(collection)))
      {
        return;
      }

      CheckReentrancy();

      var clusters = new Dictionary<int, List<T>>();
      var lastIndex = -1;
      List<T> lastCluster = null;
      foreach (T item in collection)
      {
        var index = IndexOf(item);
        if (index < 0)
        {
          continue;
        }

        Items.RemoveAt(index);

        if (lastIndex == index && lastCluster != null)
        {
          lastCluster.Add(item);
        }
        else
        {
          clusters[lastIndex = index] = lastCluster = new List<T> { item };
        }
      }

      OnEssentialPropertiesChanged();

      if (Count == 0)
        OnCollectionReset();
      else
        foreach (KeyValuePair<int, List<T>> cluster in clusters)
          OnCollectionChanged(new NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs(NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Remove, cluster.Value, cluster.Key));

    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Iterates over the collection and removes all items that satisfy the specified match.
    /// </summary>
    /// <remarks>The complexity is O(n).</remarks>
    /// <param name="match"></param>
    /// <returns>Returns the number of elements that where </returns>
    /// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException"><paramref name="match"/> is null.</exception>
    public int RemoveAll(Predicate<T> match)
    {
      return RemoveAll(0, Count, match);
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Iterates over the specified range within the collection and removes all items that satisfy the specified match.
    /// </summary>
    /// <remarks>The complexity is O(n).</remarks>
    /// <param name="index">The index of where to start performing the search.</param>
    /// <param name="count">The number of items to iterate on.</param>
    /// <param name="match"></param>
    /// <returns>Returns the number of elements that where </returns>
    /// <exception cref="ArgumentOutOfRangeException"><paramref name="index"/> is out of range.</exception>
    /// <exception cref="ArgumentOutOfRangeException"><paramref name="count"/> is out of range.</exception>
    /// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException"><paramref name="match"/> is null.</exception>
    public int RemoveAll(int index, int count, Predicate<T> match)
    {
      if (index < 0)
        throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(nameof(index));
      if (count < 0)
        throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(nameof(count));
      if (index + count > Count)
        throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(nameof(index));
      if (match == null)
        throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(match));

      if (Count == 0)
        return 0;

      List<T> cluster = null;
      var clusterIndex = -1;
      var removedCount = 0;

      using (BlockReentrancy())
      using (DeferEvents())
      {
        for (var i = 0; i < count; i++, index++)
        {
          T item = Items[index];
          if (match(item))
          {
            Items.RemoveAt(index);
            removedCount++;

            if (clusterIndex == index)
            {
              Debug.Assert(cluster != null);
              cluster.Add(item);
            }
            else
            {
              cluster = new List<T> { item };
              clusterIndex = index;
            }

            index--;
          }
          else if (clusterIndex > -1)
          {
            OnCollectionChanged(new NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs(NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Remove, cluster, clusterIndex));
            clusterIndex = -1;
            cluster = null;
          }
        }

        if (clusterIndex > -1)
          OnCollectionChanged(new NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs(NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Remove, cluster, clusterIndex));
      }

      if (removedCount > 0)
        OnEssentialPropertiesChanged();

      return removedCount;
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Removes a range of elements from the <see cref="ObservableCollection{T}"/>>.
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="index">The zero-based starting index of the range of elements to remove.</param>
    /// <param name="count">The number of elements to remove.</param>
    /// <exception cref="ArgumentOutOfRangeException">The specified range is exceeding the collection.</exception>
    public void RemoveRange(int index, int count)
    {
      if (index < 0)
        throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(nameof(index));
      if (count < 0)
        throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(nameof(count));
      if (index + count > Count)
        throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(nameof(index));

      if (count == 0)
        return;

      if (count == 1)
      {
        RemoveItem(index);
        return;
      }

      //Items will always be List<T>, see constructors
      var items = (List<T>)Items;
      List<T> removedItems = items.GetRange(index, count);

      CheckReentrancy();

      items.RemoveRange(index, count);

      OnEssentialPropertiesChanged();

      if (Count == 0)
        OnCollectionReset();
      else
        OnCollectionChanged(new NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs(NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Remove, removedItems, index));
    }

    /// <summary> 
    /// Clears the current collection and replaces it with the specified collection,
    /// using the default <see cref="EqualityComparer{T}"/>.
    /// </summary>             
    /// <param name="collection">The items to fill the collection with, after clearing it.</param>
    /// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException"><paramref name="collection"/> is null.</exception>
    public void ReplaceRange(IEnumerable<T> collection)
    {
      ReplaceRange(0, Count, collection, EqualityComparer<T>.Default);
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Clears the current collection and replaces it with the specified collection,
    /// using the specified comparer to skip equal items.
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="collection">The items to fill the collection with, after clearing it.</param>
    /// <param name="comparer">An <see cref="IEqualityComparer{T}"/> to be used
    /// to check whether an item in the same location already existed before,
    /// which in case it would not be added to the collection, and no event will be raised for it.</param>
    /// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException"><paramref name="collection"/> is null.</exception>
    /// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException"><paramref name="comparer"/> is null.</exception>
    public void ReplaceRange(IEnumerable<T> collection, IEqualityComparer<T> comparer)
    {
      ReplaceRange(0, Count, collection, comparer);
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Removes the specified range and inserts the specified collection,
    /// ignoring equal items (using <see cref="EqualityComparer{T}.Default"/>).
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="index">The index of where to start the replacement.</param>
    /// <param name="count">The number of items to be replaced.</param>
    /// <param name="collection">The collection to insert in that location.</param>
    /// <exception cref="ArgumentOutOfRangeException"><paramref name="index"/> is out of range.</exception>
    /// <exception cref="ArgumentOutOfRangeException"><paramref name="count"/> is out of range.</exception>
    /// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException"><paramref name="collection"/> is null.</exception>
    public void ReplaceRange(int index, int count, IEnumerable<T> collection)
    {
      ReplaceRange(index, count, collection, EqualityComparer<T>.Default);
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Removes the specified range and inserts the specified collection in its position, leaving equal items in equal positions intact.
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="index">The index of where to start the replacement.</param>
    /// <param name="count">The number of items to be replaced.</param>
    /// <param name="collection">The collection to insert in that location.</param>
    /// <param name="comparer">The comparer to use when checking for equal items.</param>
    /// <exception cref="ArgumentOutOfRangeException"><paramref name="index"/> is out of range.</exception>
    /// <exception cref="ArgumentOutOfRangeException"><paramref name="count"/> is out of range.</exception>
    /// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException"><paramref name="collection"/> is null.</exception>
    /// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException"><paramref name="comparer"/> is null.</exception>
    public void ReplaceRange(int index, int count, IEnumerable<T> collection, IEqualityComparer<T> comparer)
    {
      if (index < 0)
        throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(nameof(index));
      if (count < 0)
        throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(nameof(count));
      if (index + count > Count)
        throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(nameof(index));

      if (collection == null)
        throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(collection));
      if (comparer == null)
        throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(comparer));

      if (collection is ICollection<T> countable)
      {
        if (countable.Count == 0)
        {
          RemoveRange(index, count);
          return;
        }
      }
      else if (!ContainsAny(collection))
      {
        RemoveRange(index, count);
        return;
      }

      if (index + count == 0)
      {
        InsertRange(0, collection);
        return;
      }

      if (!(collection is IList<T> list))
        list = new List<T>(collection);

      using (BlockReentrancy())
      using (DeferEvents())
      {
        var rangeCount = index + count;
        var addedCount = list.Count;

        var changesMade = false;
        List<T>
            newCluster = null,
            oldCluster = null;

        int i = index;
        for (; i < rangeCount && i - index < addedCount; i++)
        {
          //parallel position
          T old = this[i], @new = list[i - index];
          if (comparer.Equals(old, @new))
          {
            OnRangeReplaced(i, newCluster, oldCluster);
            continue;
          }
          else
          {
            Items[i] = @new;

            if (newCluster == null)
            {
              Debug.Assert(oldCluster == null);
              newCluster = new List<T> { @new };
              oldCluster = new List<T> { old };
            }
            else
            {
              newCluster.Add(@new);
              oldCluster.Add(old);
            }

            changesMade = true;
          }
        }

        OnRangeReplaced(i, newCluster, oldCluster);

        //exceeding position
        if (count != addedCount)
        {
          var items = (List<T>)Items;
          if (count > addedCount)
          {
            var removedCount = rangeCount - addedCount;
            T[] removed = new T[removedCount];
            items.CopyTo(i, removed, 0, removed.Length);
            items.RemoveRange(i, removedCount);
            OnCollectionChanged(new NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs(NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Remove, removed, i));
          }
          else
          {
            var k = i - index;
            T[] added = new T[addedCount - k];
            for (int j = k; j < addedCount; j++)
            {
              T @new = list[j];
              added[j - k] = @new;
            }
            items.InsertRange(i, added);
            OnCollectionChanged(new NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs(NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Add, added, i));
          }

          OnEssentialPropertiesChanged();
        }
        else if (changesMade)
        {
          OnIndexerPropertyChanged();
        }
      }
    }

    #endregion Public Methods

    //------------------------------------------------------
    //
    //  Protected Methods
    //
    //------------------------------------------------------

    #region Protected Methods

    /// <summary>
    /// Called by base class Collection<T> when the list is being cleared;
    /// raises a CollectionChanged event to any listeners.
    /// </summary>
    protected override void ClearItems()
    {
      if (Count == 0)
        return;

      CheckReentrancy();
      base.ClearItems();
      OnEssentialPropertiesChanged();
      OnCollectionReset();
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Called by base class Collection<T> when an item is set in list;
    /// raises a CollectionChanged event to any listeners.
    /// </summary>
    protected override void SetItem(int index, T item)
    {
      if (Equals(this[index], item))
        return;

      CheckReentrancy();
      T originalItem = this[index];
      base.SetItem(index, item);

      OnIndexerPropertyChanged();
      OnCollectionChanged(NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Replace, originalItem, item, index);
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Raise CollectionChanged event to any listeners.
    /// Properties/methods modifying this ObservableCollection will raise
    /// a collection changed event through this virtual method.
    /// </summary>
    /// <remarks>
    /// When overriding this method, either call its base implementation
    /// or call <see cref="BlockReentrancy"/> to guard against reentrant collection changes.
    /// </remarks>
    protected override void OnCollectionChanged(NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs e)
    {
      if (_deferredEvents != null)
      {
        _deferredEvents.Add(e);
        return;
      }
      base.OnCollectionChanged(e);
    }

    protected virtual IDisposable DeferEvents() => new DeferredEventsCollection(this);

    #endregion Protected Methods
    Private Methods
    //------------------------------------------------------

    #region Private Methods

    /// <summary>
    /// Helper function to determine if a collection contains any elements.
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="collection">The collection to evaluate.</param>
    /// <returns></returns>
    private static bool ContainsAny(IEnumerable<T> collection)
    {
      using (IEnumerator<T> enumerator = collection.GetEnumerator())
        return enumerator.MoveNext();
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Helper to raise Count property and the Indexer property.
    /// </summary>
    private void OnEssentialPropertiesChanged()
    {
      OnPropertyChanged(EventArgsCache.CountPropertyChanged);
      OnIndexerPropertyChanged();
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// /// Helper to raise a PropertyChanged event for the Indexer property
    /// /// </summary>
    private void OnIndexerPropertyChanged() =>
      OnPropertyChanged(EventArgsCache.IndexerPropertyChanged);

    /// <summary>
    /// Helper to raise CollectionChanged event to any listeners
    /// </summary>
    private void OnCollectionChanged(NotifyCollectionChangedAction action, object oldItem, object newItem, int index) =>
      OnCollectionChanged(new NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs(action, newItem, oldItem, index));

    /// <summary>
    /// Helper to raise CollectionChanged event with action == Reset to any listeners
    /// </summary>
    private void OnCollectionReset() =>
      OnCollectionChanged(EventArgsCache.ResetCollectionChanged);

    /// <summary>
    /// Helper to raise event for clustered action and clear cluster.
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="followingItemIndex">The index of the item following the replacement block.</param>
    /// <param name="newCluster"></param>
    /// <param name="oldCluster"></param>
    //TODO should have really been a local method inside ReplaceRange(int index, int count, IEnumerable<T> collection, IEqualityComparer<T> comparer),
    //move when supported language version updated.
    private void OnRangeReplaced(int followingItemIndex, ICollection<T> newCluster, ICollection<T> oldCluster)
    {
      if (oldCluster == null || oldCluster.Count == 0)
      {
        Debug.Assert(newCluster == null || newCluster.Count == 0);
        return;
      }

      OnCollectionChanged(
          new NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs(
              NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Replace,
              new List<T>(newCluster),
              new List<T>(oldCluster),
              followingItemIndex - oldCluster.Count));

      oldCluster.Clear();
      newCluster.Clear();
    }

    #endregion Private Methods

    //------------------------------------------------------
    //
    //  Private Types
    //
    //------------------------------------------------------

    #region Private Types
    private sealed class DeferredEventsCollection : List<NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs>, IDisposable
    {
      private readonly ObservableRangeCollection<T> _collection;
      public DeferredEventsCollection(ObservableRangeCollection<T> collection)
      {
        Debug.Assert(collection != null);
        Debug.Assert(collection._deferredEvents == null);
        _collection = collection;
        _collection._deferredEvents = this;
      }

      public void Dispose()
      {
        _collection._deferredEvents = null;
        foreach (var args in this)
          _collection.OnCollectionChanged(args);
      }
    }

    #endregion Private Types

  }

  /// <remarks>
  /// To be kept outside <see cref="ObservableCollection{T}"/>, since otherwise, a new instance will be created for each generic type used.
  /// </remarks>
  internal static class EventArgsCache
  {
    internal static readonly PropertyChangedEventArgs CountPropertyChanged = new PropertyChangedEventArgs("Count");
    internal static readonly PropertyChangedEventArgs IndexerPropertyChanged = new PropertyChangedEventArgs("Item[]");
    internal static readonly NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs ResetCollectionChanged = new NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs(NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Reset);
  }
}

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