You have probably come across the AsReadOnly() extension method, and have probably made liberal use of it.

However there is a slight gotcha that may surprise you.

The documentation says as follows:

Returns a read-only [ReadOnlyCollection](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/system.collections.objectmodel.readonlycollection-1?view=netframework-4.8) wrapper for the current collection.

The devil is in the details!

Take this code:

// Create an array of names
var names = new List<string>() { "Anna", "Jane", "Mary" };
// Return AsReadOnly
var readOnlyNames = names.AsReadOnly();
// Print the read only list
Console.WriteLine(String.Join(",", readOnlyNames));
// Change the first name in the original list
names[0] = "Clarice";
// Print the read only list again
Console.WriteLine(String.Join(",", readOnlyNames));

You might be surprised to note that it prints the following:

Yes. Changing the original list changes the ReadOnlyCollection as well!

Calling AsReadOnly() returns a wrapper to the original list. Changes to the original list will manifest in the read only collection.

This might not be a problem when crossing application boundaries (say using JSON) but it may provide some surprises if the read only collection and the original list co-exist, perhaps internally in a class.

So how do we tackle the problem of returning a collection that you do not intend to be modified?

We can look at solutions next time.

Happy Hacking!