C#: Good/best implementation of Swap method

Well, the code you have posted (ref cards[n]) can only work with an array (not a list) - but you would use simply (where foo and bar are the two values):

static void Swap(ref int foo, ref int bar) {
    int tmp = foo;
    foo = bar;
    bar = tmp;
}

Or possibly (if you want atomic):

Interlocked.Exchange(ref foo, ref bar);

Personally, I don't think I'd bother with a swap method, though - just do it directly; this means that you can use (either for a list or for an array):

int tmp = cards[n];
cards[n] = cards[i];
cards[i] = tmp;

If you really wanted to write a swap method that worked on either a list or an array, you'd have to do something like:

static void Swap(IList<int> list, int indexA, int indexB)
{
    int tmp = list[indexA];
    list[indexA] = list[indexB];
    list[indexB] = tmp;
}

(it would be trivial to make this generic) - however, the original "inline" version (i.e. not a method) working on an array will be faster.


A good swap is one where you don't swap the contents. In C/C++ this would be akin to swapping pointers instead of swapping the contents. This style of swapping is fast and comes with some exception guarantee. Unfortunately, my C# is too rusty to allow me to put it in code. For simple data types, this style doesn't give you much. But once you are used to, and have to deal with larger (and more complicated) objects, it can save your life.