title: ArrayList versus an array of objects versus Collection of T
body: <p>I have a class <code>Customer</code> (with typical customer properties) and I need to pass around, and databind, a "chunk" of <code>Customer</code> instances. Currently I'm using an array of <code>Customer</code>, but I've also used <code>Collection</code> of <code>T</code> (and <code>List</code> of <code>T</code> before I knew about <code>Collection</code> of <code>T</code>). I'd like the thinnest way to pass this chunk around using C# and .NET 3.5.</p>
  
  <p>Currently, the array of <code>Customer</code> is working just fine for me. It data binds well and seems to be as lightweight as it gets. I don't need the stuff <code>List</code> of <code>T</code> offers and <code>Collection</code> of <code>T</code> still seems like overkill. The array does require that I know ahead of time how many <code>Customer</code>s I'm adding to the chunk, but I always know that in advance (given rows in a page, for example). </p>
  
  <p>Am I missing something fundamental or is the array of <code>Customer</code> OK? Is there a tradeoff I'm missing?</p>
  
  <p>Also, I'm assuming that <code>Collection</code> of <code>T</code> makes the old loosely-typed <code>ArrayList</code> obsolete. Am I right there?</p>