How to store data more efficiently so I can sort by surname.

See more:

C#

.NET

ListBox

dictionary

Hi guys,

I'm creating a simple application that that takes firstName and surName input from text boxes, adds them to a List (currently using List) and a ListBox by clicking on a "Add" button. And I also have a button that has to sort the names in alphabetical order, but the catch is that it has to sort them by using the surname not first name.

I got to a point where I can add the names but when I click the sort, the first names vanish from the listBox and only the surnames are shown. I need to somehow merge them or change the data structure so the first names and surnames are linked.

The major problem is that the tasks requires me to sort the names without using any pre-defined sort methods.


C#:

namespace Sorting
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Interaction logic for MainWindow.xaml
    /// </summary>
    public partial class MainWindow : Window
    {
        public List<string> fnameList = new List<string>();
        public List<string> surnameList = new List<string>();

        public MainWindow()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
        }

        private void btnSort_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
        {
            lstOutput.Items.Clear();
            string swap;

            for(int i = 0; i < surnameList.Count; i++)
            {
                for(int j = 0; j < surnameList.Count; j++)
                {
                    if(string.Compare(surnameList[i], surnameList[j]) < 0)
                    {
                        swap = surnameList[i];
                        surnameList[i] = surnameList[j];
                        surnameList[j] = swap;
                    }
                }      
            }

            foreach(var item in surnameList)
            {
                lstOutput.Items.Add(item);
            }
            
        }

        private void btnAdd_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
        {
            if(txtFname.Text == "" || txtSurname.Text == "")
            {
                MessageBox.Show("\t\tError\n\n\tInput a valid first name or/and surname");
                return;
            } 
            else
            {
                //adds names to lists
                fnameList.Add(txtFname.Text);
                surnameList.Add(txtSurname.Text);

                lstOutput.Items.Add(txtFname.Text + " " + txtSurname.Text);

                txtFname.Text = "";
                txtSurname.Text = "";
            }
        }

        private void btnClear_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
        {
            txtFname.Text = "";
            txtSurname.Text = "";
            lstOutput.Items.Clear();
            fnameList.Clear();
            surnameList.Clear();
        }


    }
}

XAML

<pre><Window x:Class="Sorting.MainWindow"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
        xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
        xmlns:local="clr-namespace:Sorting"
        mc:Ignorable="d"
        Title="MainWindow" Height="570" Width="500" WindowStartupLocation="CenterScreen" ResizeMode="NoResize">
    <Grid>
        <TextBlock HorizontalAlignment="Left" Height="28" Margin="149,20,0,0" TextWrapping="Wrap" Text="Sorting Algorithm" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="198" FontFamily="Arial" FontSize="22" FontWeight="Bold"/>
        <TextBox x:Name="txtFname" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Height="29" Margin="304,108,0,0" TextWrapping="Wrap" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="138"/>
        <TextBox x:Name="txtSurname" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Height="29" Margin="303,170,0,0" TextWrapping="Wrap" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="139"/>
        <Button x:Name="btnAdd" Content="Add" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Height="50" Margin="303,228,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="158" Click="btnAdd_Click"/>
        <ListBox x:Name="lstOutput" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Height="448" Margin="21,68,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="265" FontFamily="Arial" BorderBrush="Black"/>
        <Button x:Name="btnClear" Content="Clear" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Height="46" Margin="349,289,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="74" Click="btnClear_Click"/>
        <Button x:Name="btnSort" Content="Sort" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Height="82" Margin="301,434,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="162" FontFamily="Arial" Click="btnSort_Click"/>
        <Label Content="First Name:" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Height="26" Margin="300,84,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="88" FontFamily="Arial"/>
        <Label Content="Surname: " HorizontalAlignment="Left" Height="26" Margin="300,147,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="88" FontFamily="Arial"/>
    </Grid>
</Window>

What I have tried:

I'm almost certain from all the stuff I read, that I need a Dictionary.. But my coding knowledge is not that good at this point to implement it efficiently.