Class with indexer and property named “Item”

Question

Is it possible to create a class in .NET 4 with:

1. an indexer,
2. a property named "Item"?

For example, this C# class will not compile for me:

public class MyClass
{
    public object Item { get; set; }
    public object this[string index] { get { return null; } set { } }
}

The compiler gives an error CS0102:

The type 'MyClass' already contains a definition for 'Item'

although I am only explicitly defining Item once.

Answer 1

Based on this site, it is possible to use an attribute to rename the Indexer

public class MyClass
{
    public object Item { get; set; }
    [System.Runtime.CompilerServices.IndexerName("MyItem")]
    public object this[string index] { get { return null; } set { } }
}

Answer 2

C# internally creates a property called Item for languages that don't support the indexer. You can control this name using the IndexerNameAttribute, like this:

[IndexerName("MyIndexer")]
public object this[string index]
{
    get { return blah; }
}

Answer 3

If I remember correctly, such an indexer can be accessed from VB.Net through an "Item()" method. That would be where that "defined twice" comes from.