Real world use cases for C# indexers?

Question

I\'ve seen lot of examples for c# Indexers, but in what way will it help me in real life situations.

I know the C# guru wouldn\'t have added this if it wasn\'t a ser

Answer 1

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;

namespace IndexerSample
{
    class FailSoftArray 
    {
        int[] a; // reference to underlying array
        public int Length; // Length is public
        public bool ErrFlag; // indicates outcome of last operation
        // Construct array given its size.
        public FailSoftArray(int size)
        {
            a = new int[size];
            Length = size;
        }
        // This is the indexer for FailSoftArray.
        public int this[int index] 
        {
        // This is the get accessor.
            get
            {
                if (ok(index))
                {
                    ErrFlag = false;
                    return a[index];
                }
                else
                {
                    ErrFlag = true;
                    return 0;
                }
            }
            // This is the set accessor.
            set
            {
                if (ok(index))
                {
                    a[index] = value;
                    ErrFlag = false;
                }
                else ErrFlag = true;
            }
        }
        // Return true if index is within bounds.
        private bool ok(int index)
        {
            if (index >= 0 & index < Length) return true;
            return false;
        }
    }
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            FailSoftArray fs = new FailSoftArray(5);
            int x;
            // Show quiet failures.
            Console.WriteLine("Fail quietly.");
            for (int i = 0; i < (fs.Length * 2); i++)
                fs[i] = i * 10;
            for (int i = 0; i < (fs.Length * 2); i++)
            {
                x = fs[i];
                if (x != -1) Console.Write(x + " ");
            }
            Console.WriteLine();
            // Now, display failures.
            Console.WriteLine("\nFail with error reports.");
            for (int i = 0; i < (fs.Length * 2); i++)
            {
                fs[i] = i * 10;
                if (fs.ErrFlag)
                    Console.WriteLine("fs[" + i + "] out-of-bounds");
            }
            for (int i = 0; i < (fs.Length * 2); i++)
            {
                x = fs[i];
                if (!fs.ErrFlag) Console.Write(x + " ");
                else
                    Console.WriteLine("fs[" + i + "] out-of-bounds");
            }
            Console.ReadLine();
        }
    }
}