Is there a way to combine grid column definitions in Xamarin C#

Issue

Here's what I have:

var grid = new Grid();
grid.ColumnDefinitions.Add(new ColumnDefinition() { Width = new GridLength(1, GridUnitType.Star) });
grid.ColumnDefinitions.Add(new ColumnDefinition() { Width = new GridLength(1) });
grid.ColumnDefinitions.Add(new ColumnDefinition() { Width = new GridLength(1, GridUnitType.Star) });

Is there a way I can combine any of these lines together?

Solution

Not that I know of at present but if it is something you are doing often then you could make it easier via an extension method...

public static class GridExtensions
{
    public static Grid Add(this Grid grid, ColumnDefinition columnDefinition)
    {
        grid.ColumnDefinitions.Add(columnDefinition);
        return grid;
    }

    public static Grid AddColumnDefinition(this Grid grid, GridLength gridLength) =>
        grid.Add(new ColumnDefinition {Width = gridLength});
}

Then you can call it like:

grid.AddColumnDefinition(new GridLength(1, GridUnitType.Star))
    .AddColumnDefinition(new GridLength(1))
    .AddColumnDefinition(new GridLength(1, GridUnitType.Star));

You could even take it a step further and accept the parameters for constructing GridLength and do that inside your extension method.

I am happy to accept that this is not providing fewer lines but it is less verbose and easier to read.

Answered By - Bijington