I have an expression helper to help getting values from object hierarchy
public static Func<T, object> GetMemberExpressionFunc<T>(string expressionString)
{
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(expressionString))
{
throw new InvalidOperationException("invalid Expression");
}
var parameter = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T));
Expression memberExpression = parameter;
var tokens = expressionString.Split('.');
memberExpression = tokens.Aggregate(memberExpression, Expression.PropertyOrField);
var convertExpression = Expression.Convert(memberExpression, typeof(object));
return Expression.Lambda<Func<T, object>>(convertExpression, parameter)
.Compile();
}
Usage
public class A
{
public B BObj { get; set; }
}
public class B
{
public string Name { get; set; }
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var obj = new A {BObj = new B {Name ="Test"}};
var obj2 = new A ();
var exp = ExpressionHelper.GetMemberExpressionFunc<A>("BObj.Name");
var test1 = exp(obj);// test1 is "Test"
var test2 = exp(obj2); //throws because BObj is null
}
I want the expression to return null if any property in the hierarchy is null instead of throwing exception. Is it possible to do this at the aggregate expression?
C# null conditional operator ?. would have been very handy in this case. Unfortunately it's still not supported in expression trees, so one way to achieve the goal is to build dynamically the equivalent of manual null checks all down the road:
x => x != null && x.Prop1 != null && x.Prop1.Prop2 != null ... ? (object)x.Prop1.Prop2...PropN : null
Since you would need to aggregate both the member accessor expression and condition to be used in the final Expression.Condition, the Aggregate method is not good - doing the aggregation with the old good foreach loop looks more appropriate, for instance like this:
var parameter = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T));
var nullConst = Expression.Constant(null);
Expression source = parameter, condition = null;
foreach (var memberName in expressionString.Split('.'))
{
var notNull = Expression.NotEqual(source, nullConst);
condition = condition != null ? Expression.AndAlso(condition, notNull) : notNull;
source = Expression.PropertyOrField(source, memberName);
}
source = Expression.Convert(source, typeof(object));
var body = Expression.Condition(condition, source, nullConst);
return Expression.Lambda<Func<T, object>>(body, parameter)
.Compile();
Related
Check this fiddle for the error: https://dotnetfiddle.net/tlz4Qg
I have two classes like this:
public class ParentType{
private ParentType(){}
public int Id { get; protected set; }
public SubType Sub { get; protected set; }
}
public class SubType{
private SubType(){}
public int Id { get; protected set; }
}
I am going to transform a multilevel anonymous expression to a multilevel non-anonymous expression. To achieve this I have an expression like the below-mentioned one:
x => new
{
x.Id,
Sub = new
{
x.Sub.Id
}
}
To achieve that goal, I have transformed it to an expression like this:
x => new ParentType()
{
Id = x.Id,
Sub = new SubType()
{
Id = x.Sub.Id
},
}
But when I call Compile() method, I get the following error:
Variable 'x.Sub' of type 'SubType' referenced from scope '' but it is not defined
Here is my visitor class:
public class ReturnTypeVisitor<TIn, TOut> : ExpressionVisitor
{
private readonly Type funcToReplace;
private ParameterExpression currentParameter;
private ParameterExpression defaultParameter;
private Type currentType;
public ReturnTypeVisitor() => funcToReplace = typeof(Func<,>).MakeGenericType(typeof(TIn), typeof(object));
protected override Expression VisitNew(NewExpression node)
{
if (!node.Type.IsAnonymousType())
return base.VisitNew(node);
if (currentType == null)
currentType = typeof(TOut);
var ctor = currentType.GetPrivateConstructor();
if (ctor == null)
return base.VisitNew(node);
NewExpression expr = Expression.New(ctor);
IEnumerable<MemberBinding> bindings = node.Members.Select(x =>
{
var mi = currentType.GetProperty(x.Name);
//if the type is anonymous then I need to transform its body
if (((PropertyInfo)x).PropertyType.IsAnonymousType())
{
//This section is became unnecessary complex!
//
var property = (PropertyInfo)x;
var parentType = currentType;
var parentParameter = currentParameter;
currentType = currentType.GetProperty(property.Name).PropertyType;
currentParameter = Expression.Parameter(currentType, currentParameter.Name + "." + property.Name);
//I pass the inner anonymous expression to VisitNew and make the non-anonymous expression from it
var xOriginal = VisitNew(node.Arguments.FirstOrDefault(a => a.Type == property.PropertyType) as NewExpression);
currentType = parentType;
currentParameter = parentParameter;
return (MemberBinding)Expression.Bind(mi, xOriginal);
}
else//if type is not anonymous then simple find the property and make the memberbinding
{
var xOriginal = Expression.PropertyOrField(currentParameter, x.Name);
return (MemberBinding)Expression.Bind(mi, xOriginal);
}
});
return Expression.MemberInit(expr, bindings);
}
protected override Expression VisitLambda<T>(Expression<T> node)
{
if (typeof(T) != funcToReplace)
return base.VisitLambda(node);
defaultParameter = node.Parameters.First();
currentParameter = defaultParameter;
var body = Visit(node.Body);
return Expression.Lambda<Func<TIn, TOut>>(body, currentParameter);
}
}
And use it like this:
public static Expression<Func<Tin, Tout>> Transform<Tin, Tout>(this Expression<Func<Tin, object>> source)
{
var visitor = new ReturnTypeVisitor<Tin, Tout>();
var result = (Expression<Func<Tin, Tout>>)visitor.Visit(source);
return result;// result.Compile() throw the aforementioned error
}
Here is the extension methods used inside my Visitor class:
public static ConstructorInfo GetPrivateConstructor(this Type type) =>
type.GetConstructor(BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.NonPublic, null, Type.EmptyTypes, null);
// this hack taken from https://stackoverflow.com/a/2483054/4685428
// and https://stackoverflow.com/a/1650895/4685428
public static bool IsAnonymousType(this Type type)
{
var markedWithAttribute = type.GetCustomAttributes(typeof(CompilerGeneratedAttribute), inherit: false).Any();
var typeName = type.Name;
return markedWithAttribute
&& (typeName.StartsWith("<>") || type.Name.StartsWith("VB$"))
&& typeName.Contains("AnonymousType");
}
Update
Here is the .Net Fiddle link for the problem: https://dotnetfiddle.net/tlz4Qg
Update
I have removed the extra codes that seems to be out of the problem scope.
The cause of the problem in question is the line
currentParameter = Expression.Parameter(currentType, currentParameter.Name + "." + property.Name);
inside VisitNew method.
With your sample, it creates a new parameter called "x.Sub", so if we mark the parameters with {}, the actual result is
Sub = new SubType()
{
Id = {x.Sub}.Id
},
rather than expected
Sub = new SubType()
{
Id = {x}.Sub.Id
},
In general you should not create new ParameterExpressions except when remapping lambda expressions. And all newly created parameters should be passed to Expression.Lambda call, otherwise they will be considered "not defined".
Also please note that the visitor code has some assumptions which doesn't hold in general. For instance
var xOriginal = Expression.PropertyOrField(currentParameter, x.Name);
won't work inside nested new, because there you need access to a member of the x parameter like x.Sub.Id rather than x.Id. Which is basically the corersonding expression from NewExpression.Arguments.
Processing nested lambda expressions or collection type members and LINQ methods with expression visitors requires much more state control. While converting simple nested anonymous new expression like in the sample does not even need a ExpressionVisitor, because it could easily be achieved with simple recursive method like this:
public static Expression<Func<Tin, Tout>> Transform<Tin, Tout>(this Expression<Func<Tin, object>> source)
{
return Expression.Lambda<Func<Tin, Tout>>(
Transform(source.Body, typeof(Tout)),
source.Parameters);
}
static Expression Transform(Expression source, Type type)
{
if (source.Type != type && source is NewExpression newExpr && newExpr.Members.Count > 0)
{
return Expression.MemberInit(Expression.New(type), newExpr.Members
.Select(m => type.GetProperty(m.Name))
.Zip(newExpr.Arguments, (m, e) => Expression.Bind(m, Transform(e, m.PropertyType))));
}
return source;
}
I have searched, and found similar posts pertaining to my issue, however nothing seems to solve my problem.
I am fairly new to C#, and this is my first attempt at building an expression tree. (please go easy ;-)
I am trying to create an expression tree which would, once compiled, filter values on a set of data.
Here is my expression method:
private static Expression<Func<TItem, bool>> CreateFilterExpression<TItem>(string propertyName, string expressionType, dynamic filterValue)
{
if (param == null)
{
param = Expression.Parameter(typeof(TItem), "item");
}
MemberExpression member = GetMemberExpression<TItem>(propertyName);
//When we call our method, we need to evaluate on the same type
//we convert the filter value to the type of the property we are evaluating on
dynamic convertedValue = Convert.ChangeType(filterValue, member.Type);
MethodInfo method = member.Type.GetMethod(expressionType, new[] { member.Type });
ConstantExpression constantValue = Expression.Constant(convertedValue, member.Type);
Expression containsMethodExp;
if (expressionType == "NotEqual")
{
method = member.Type.GetMethod("Equals", new[] { member.Type });
}
if (member.Type.ToString().ToLower() == "system.string")
{
//We need to compare the lower case of property and value
MethodCallExpression propertyValueToLowerCase = Expression.Call(member, typeof(string).GetMethod("ToLower", System.Type.EmptyTypes));
MethodCallExpression filterValueToLowerCase = Expression.Call(constantValue, typeof(string).GetMethod("ToLower", System.Type.EmptyTypes));
containsMethodExp = Expression.Call(propertyValueToLowerCase, method, filterValueToLowerCase);
}
else if (member.Type.ToString().ToLower() == "system.datetime")
{
//we need to compare only the dates
MemberExpression dateOnlyProperty = Expression.Property(member, "Date");
containsMethodExp = Expression.Call(dateOnlyProperty, method, constantValue);
}
else
{
containsMethodExp = Expression.Call(member, method, constantValue);
}
if (expressionType == "NotEqual")
{
containsMethodExp = Expression.Not(containsMethodExp);
}
return Expression.Lambda<Func<TItem, bool>>(containsMethodExp, param);
}
private static MemberExpression GetMemberExpression<TItem>(string propertyName)
{
if (param == null)
{
param = Expression.Parameter(typeof(TItem), "item");
}
MemberExpression member = null;
//Check if we have a nested property
if (propertyName.Contains('.'))
{
Expression nestedProperty = param;
string[] properies = propertyName.Split('.');
int zeroIndex = properies.Count() - 1;
for (int i = 0; i <= zeroIndex; i++)
{
if (i < zeroIndex)
{
nestedProperty = Expression.PropertyOrField(nestedProperty, properies[i]);
}
else
{
member = Expression.Property(nestedProperty, properies[i]);
}
}
}
else
{
member = Expression.Property(param, propertyName);
}
return member;
}
Example usage would be like so:
var lambda = CreateFilterExpression<T>("Some.Nested.Object", "Equals", "Some value");
var compiled = lambda.Compile();
gridData = gridData.Where(compiled);
An example of the data I trying to ultimately bind to my grid looks like this:
public class Some : BaseClass
{
public decimal NumberAvailable { get; set; }
public DateTime EffectiveDate { get; set; }
public Batch Batch { get; set; }
public decimal Price { get; set; }
public decimal Limit { get; set; }
public NestedClass Nested { get; set; }
public int? CompanyId { get; set; }
public decimal Amount { get; set; }
}
public class NestedClass : BaseClass
{
public int RequestId { get; set; }
public string Code { get; set; }
public string Company { get; set; }
public string Reference { get; set; }
}
The problem occurs when we have null value on an object, like "Some.Nested = null", and then trying to convert "Reference" to lowercase. Here:
MethodCallExpression propertyValueToLowerCase = Expression.Call(member, typeof(string).GetMethod("ToLower", System.Type.EmptyTypes));
Here is the result in debugger:
How can I check for null values, on nested objects, and return empty string if it is null?
I hope I explained my question well enough. Thank you in advance!
What you want to do is to generate an expression like this:
Some == null ? null : Some.Nested == null ? null : Some.Nested.Object
This unfortunately is no longer a member expression, so GetMemberExpression wouldn’t work for this. Instead you need a chain of conditional expression that accesses one more level at a time.
Once you have that, you could then do <memberExpression> ?? string.Empty to get a string which you can safely operate on.
To generate the latter expression, you can use Expression.Coalesce:
Expression.Coalesce(memberExpression, Expression.Constant(string.Empty))
For the member expression itself, you could write something like this:
Expression AccessMember(Expression obj, string propertyName)
{
string[] parts = propertyName.Split(new char[] { '.' }, 2);
Expression member = Expression.PropertyOrField(obj, parts[0]);
if (parts.Length > 1)
member = AccessMember(member, parts[1]);
return Expression.Condition(Expression.Equal(obj, Expression.Constant(null)),
Expression.Constant(null, member.Type), member);
}
This can be used like this:
string path = "Some.Nested.Object";
string[] parts = path.Split(new char[] { '.' }, 2);
ParameterExpression param = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), parts[0]);
Expression memberAccess = AccessMember(param, parts[1]);
memberAccess would then be exactly the above chained conditional expression.
Combined into your function (simplified only for strings for now), it could look like this:
Expression<Func<TObj, bool>> BuildFilterExpression<TObj, TMember>(string propertyPath, TMember comparisonValue, TMember defaultValue)
{
string[] parts = propertyPath.Split(new char[] { '.' }, 2);
ParameterExpression param = Expression.Parameter(typeof(TObj), parts[0]);
// get member access expression
Expression memberExpression = AccessMember(param, parts[1]);
// coalesce the member with the default value
memberExpression = Expression.Coalesce(memberExpression, Expression.Constant(defaultValue));
// get the comparison value as expression
Expression comparisonExpression = Expression.Constant(comparisonValue);
// type specific logic
if (memberExpression.Type == typeof(string))
{
MethodInfo toLowerMethod = typeof(string).GetMethod("ToLower", Type.EmptyTypes);
memberExpression = Expression.Call(memberExpression, toLowerMethod);
comparisonExpression = Expression.Call(comparisonExpression, toLowerMethod);
}
// create the comparison expression
Expression filterExpression = Expression.Equal(memberExpression, comparisonExpression);
return Expression.Lambda<Func<TObj, bool>>(filterExpression, param);
}
Used like this:
BuildFilterExpression<SomeType, string>("Some.Nested.Object", "foo bar", string.Empty)
… it essentially creates the following lambda expression:
(Some) => ((Some == null ? null : Some.Nested == null ? null : Some.Nested.Object) ?? string.Empty).ToLower() == "foo bar"
Above code assumes that for a property expression Some.Nested.Object, Some is the object that is being passed to the lambda, so the first property that would be accessed is Nested. The reason is that I simply didn’t know your example object structure, so I had to come up with something.
If you want Some be the first property that is accessed for the passed object, you can easily change that though. To do that, modify the beginning of BuildFilterExpression so that the propertyPath is not split up. Pass some random name (or no name even) to Expression.Parameter, and pass the full propertyPath to AccessMember:
// don’t split up the propertyPath
// let’s call the parameter `obj`
ParameterExpression param = Expression.Parameter(typeof(TObj), "obj");
// get member access expression—for the full property path
Expression memberExpression = AccessMember(param, propertyPath);
I am dealing with the scanario of Nullable types during formation of dynamic query expressions. These expressions would fetch filtered data from any SQL Tables( interfacing with Code First classes using EF ).
I have normal object ( e.g Consignment operating on several properties along with Nullable properties).
My expression formation goes well untill I encounter some Nullable types. On these nullables, I am getting
The binary operator NotEqual is not defined for the types 'System.Nullable`1[System.Single]' and 'System.Single'.
For removing this exception, I am using all appraoches regarding convertion posted on different threads.
Invoking lambda expressions in Expression trees
Trying to filter on a Nullable type using Expression Trees
These all are generating expressions with added word "Convert" ( i.e Convert(someValue) ) and in result I always have expression
t=>(t.Consignment.Id = 45000 && t.Consignment.someProperty>=45 Or t.Consignment.Weight! = Convert(5000)).
Of course I need the whole above expression WITHOUT "Convert". Because this "Convert" will not fetch the data from tables accordingly.
Any help would be greatly appreciated! What should left to do? I already know conversion, but this makes the whole expression useless, because it won't project the records because of needless "Convert"
Added
Expression NotEqual<T>(Expression PropertyType, ConstantExpression a_Constant, ParameterExpression parameter)
{
if(IsNullableType(Property.Type) &&!IsNullableType(a_Constant.Type))
{
var converted = a_Constant.Type != Property.Type ? (Expression)Expression.Convert(a_Constant, Property.Type): (Expression)a_Constant;
// here above statement returns (Convert(50000)) and all I want (50000), but i tried all combinitions from Expression in order to form this constant as expression, it always throws exception what I mentioned originally.
var body = Expression.MakeBinary(ExpressionType.NotEqual, PropertyType, converted);
//MakeBinary statement returns {(t.Weight != Convert(5000000))} but I need {(t.Weight != 5000000)}
var expr = Expression.Lambda<Func<T, bool>>(body, parameter);
return expr;
}
}
Code:
public class Consignment
{
public float? Weight { get; set; }
}
public static class GenericQueryExpressionBuilder
{
private static Expression NotEqual<T>(Expression memberExpression, ConstantExpression a_Constant, ParameterExpression parameter)
{
ConstantExpression constantExpression = null;
if (IsNullableType(memberExpression.Type) && !IsNullableType(a_Constant.Type))
{
//var converted = a_Constant.Type != memberExpression.Type ? (Expression)Expression.Convert(a_Constant, memberExpression.Type) : (Expression)a_Constant;
Expression constantExp = Expression.Property(a_Constant,typeof(T),"Weight");
**// above statement throws exception I commented.**
var body = Expression.MakeBinary(ExpressionType.NotEqual, memberExpression, converted);
//here I want "t=>(t.Weight!=5000.0) INSTEAD of t=>(t.Weight!=Convert(5000.0))"
var expr = Expression.Lambda<Func<T, bool>>(body, parameter);
return expr;
}
else if (!IsNullableType(memberExpression.Type) && IsNullableType(a_Constant.Type))
memberExpression = Expression.Convert(memberExpression, a_Constant.Type);
return Expression.NotEqual(memberExpression, constantExpression);
}
static bool IsNullableType(Type t)
{
return t.IsGenericType && t.GetGenericTypeDefinition() == typeof(Nullable<>);
}
private static Expression GetExpression<T>(ParameterExpression param, string a_strPropertyName, string Operator, object Value)
{
MemberExpression member = Expression.Property(param, a_strPropertyName);
ConstantExpression constant = Expression.Constant(Value);
try
{
return GenericQueryExpressionBuilder.NotEqual<T>(member, constant, param);
}
catch (InvalidOperationException)
{
return null;
}
return null;
}
public static Expression<Func<T, bool>> GetExpression<T>(Consignment consignment)
{
Expression expression = null;
var parameter = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "t");
string PropertyName = "Weight";
string Operation = "NotEqual";
object Value = consignment.Weight;
expression = GenericQueryExpressionBuilder.GetExpression<T>(parameter, PropertyName, Operation, Value);
return Expression.Lambda<Func<T, bool>>(expression, parameter);
}
}
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Consignment consignment = new Consignment();
consignment.Weight = 50000.0f;
var deleg = GenericQueryExpressionBuilder.GetExpression<Consignment>(consignment).Compile();
}
}
Here's a short but complete example showing how to build the c => c.Weight.HasValue && c.Weight.Value != 5000f expression tree. I've removed a lot of irrelevant code from the question:
using System;
using System.Linq.Expressions;
public class Consignment
{
public float? Weight { get; set; }
}
public class Test
{
private static Expression NotEqual(Expression memberExpression,
ConstantExpression constantToCompare)
{
// Other cases removed, for simplicity. This answer only demonstrates
// how to handle c => c.Weight != 5000f.
var hasValueExpression = Expression.Property(memberExpression, "HasValue");
var valueExpression = Expression.Property(memberExpression, "Value");
var notEqual = Expression.NotEqual(valueExpression, constantToCompare);
return Expression.AndAlso(hasValueExpression, notEqual);
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Consignment consignment = new Consignment();
consignment.Weight = 50000.0f;
var parameter = Expression.Parameter(typeof(Consignment), "c");
var weight = Expression.Property(parameter, "Weight");
var constant = Expression.Constant(5000f, typeof(float));
var weightNotEqualExpression = NotEqual(weight, constant);
var lambda = Expression.Lambda<Func<Consignment, bool>>
(weightNotEqualExpression, parameter);
Console.WriteLine(lambda);
}
}
I have a SelectionCriteria class that I use for building Entity Framework query expressions, based on PredicateBuilder. Within its limits, it's working fine. I'd like to extend it so that it can query whether a field contains a substring. My problem is that I can't see how to build the needed expression object.
My actual class supports and, or, and not, but they aren't relevant to my question. So I've simplified my example code to handle only a single binary operation:
public class SelectionCriteria
{
public SelectionComparison selectionComparison { get; set; }
public string fieldName { get; set; }
public object fieldValue { get; set; }
public Expression<Func<T, bool>> constructSinglePredicate<T>()
{
var type = typeof(T);
if (type.GetProperty(this.fieldName) == null && type.GetField(this.fieldName) == null)
throw new MissingMemberException(type.Name, this.fieldName);
ExpressionType operation;
if (!operationMap.TryGetValue(this.selectionComparison, out operation))
throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException("selectionComparison", this.selectionComparison, "Invalid filter operation");
var parameter = Expression.Parameter(type);
var member = Expression.PropertyOrField(parameter, this.fieldName);
var value = (this.fieldValue == null) ? Expression.Constant(null) : Expression.Constant(this.fieldValue, this.fieldValue.GetType());
try
{
var converted = (value.Type != member.Type)
? (Expression) Expression.Convert(value, member.Type)
: (Expression) value;
var comparison = Expression.MakeBinary(operation, member, converted);
var lambda = Expression.Lambda<Func<T, bool>>(comparison, parameter);
return lambda;
}
catch (Exception)
{
throw new InvalidOperationException(
String.Format("Cannot convert value \"{0}\" of type \"{1}\" to field \"{2}\" of type \"{3}\"", this.fieldValue,
value.Type, this.fieldName, member.Type));
}
}
private static Dictionary<SelectionComparison, ExpressionType> operationMap =
new Dictionary<SelectionComparison, ExpressionType>
{
{ SelectionComparison.Equal, ExpressionType.Equal },
{ SelectionComparison.GreaterThan, ExpressionType.GreaterThan },
};
}
public enum SelectionComparison
{
Equal,
GreaterThan,
Contains,
};
Usage is simple:
var criteria = new SelectionCriteria
{
selectionComparison = SelectionComparison.GreaterThan,
fieldName = "worktobegindate",
fieldValue = DateTime.Now.AddDays(-2)
};
var predicate = criteria .constructPredicate<job>();
var jobs = myDbContext.jobs.Where(predicate);
So, my problem - I need a method, like my constructSinglePredictate() above, that returns an Expression> and applies a .Contains(
It's trivial to apply Contains() to a string, given a string to compare it to, but I'm having difficulty figuring out how to do the same in an Expression.
Ideas?
As is usual, I was thinking about things incorrectly. I don't need a lambda that calls a method on a string, I need a MethodExpression (here extracted from the methodMap dictionary):
public Expression<Func<T, bool>> constructMethodCallPredicate<T>()
{
var type = typeof(T);
if (type.GetProperty(this.fieldName) == null && type.GetField(this.fieldName) == null)
throw new MissingMemberException(type.Name, this.fieldName);
MethodInfo method;
if (!methodMap.TryGetValue(this.selectionComparison, out method))
throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException("selectionComparison", this.selectionComparison, "Invalid filter operation");
var parameter = Expression.Parameter(type);
var member = Expression.PropertyOrField(parameter, this.fieldName);
var value = (this.fieldValue == null) ? Expression.Constant(null) : Expression.Constant(this.fieldValue, this.fieldValue.GetType());
try
{
var converted = (value.Type != member.Type)
? (Expression)Expression.Convert(value, member.Type)
: (Expression)value;
var methodExpression = Expression.Call(member, method, converted);
var lambda = Expression.Lambda<Func<T, bool>>(methodExpression, parameter);
return lambda;
}
catch (Exception)
{
throw new InvalidOperationException(
String.Format("Cannot convert value \"{0}\" of type \"{1}\" to field \"{2}\" of type \"{3}\"", this.fieldValue,
value.Type, this.fieldName, member.Type));
}
}
private static readonly Dictionary<SelectionComparison, MethodInfo> methodMap =
new Dictionary<SelectionComparison, MethodInfo>
{
{ SelectionComparison.Contains, typeof(string).GetMethod("Contains", new[] { typeof(string) }) },
{ SelectionComparison.StartsWith, typeof(string).GetMethod("StartsWith", new[] { typeof(string) }) },
{ SelectionComparison.EndsWith, typeof(string).GetMethod("EndsWith", new[] { typeof(string) }) },
};
public enum SelectionComparison
{
Equal,
NotEqual,
LessThan,
LessThanOrEqual,
GreaterThan,
GreaterThanOrEqual,
Contains,
StartsWith,
EndsWith,
};
Getting an actual "Like" comparison to work, using SqlFunctions.PatIndex is a bit more complicated, PatIndex() returns an int, and I need to wrap it in a >0 expression, but it works just fine, as well.
I was looking at another question that stated how Expression can be significantly faster than reflection since it can be precompiled to IL.
I'm not really sure how to use it though. Here is some code used in a base class for a Value Oject (in the DDD sense) where the basic idea is to use the values of all public properties to determine equality, which it gets via reflection. By using this base class, you needn't implement equality for subclasses that have Value Object.
protected virtual bool HasSameObjectSignatureAs(BaseObject compareTo)
{
var signatureProperties = GetType().GetProperties();
foreach (var property in signatureProperties)
{
var valueOfThisObject = property.GetValue(this, null);
var valueOfCompareTo = property.GetValue(compareTo, null);
if (valueOfThisObject == null && valueOfCompareTo == null) {
continue;
}
if ((valueOfThisObject == null ^ valueOfCompareTo == null) ||
(!valueOfThisObject.Equals(valueOfCompareTo))) {
return false;
}
}
How would this code be re-written using Expression?
Cheers,
Berryl
You can do this by building up a nested And expression for each property you want to compare:
protected Expression<Func<BaseObject, bool>> CreatePropertiesEqualExpression(BaseObject other)
{
if (! other.GetType().IsSubclassOf(this.GetType())) throw new ArgumentException();
var properties = this.GetType().GetProperties();
Expression trueExpr = Expression.Constant(true);
Expression thisExpr = Expression.Constant(this);
ParameterExpression paramExpr = Expression.Parameter(typeof(BaseObject), "compareTo");
Expression downCastExpr = Expression.Convert(paramExpr, other.GetType());
MethodInfo eqMethod = typeof(object).GetMethod("Equals", BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Static);
Expression propCompExpr = properties.Aggregate(trueExpr, (expr, prop) =>
{
Expression thisPropExpr = Expression.Property(thisExpr, prop);
Expression compPropExpr = Expression.Property(downCastExpr, prop);
Expression eqExpr = Expression.Call(null, eqMethod, Expression.Convert(thisPropExpr, typeof(object)), Expression.Convert(compPropExpr, typeof(object)));
return Expression.And(expr, eqExpr);
});
return Expression.Lambda<Func<BaseObject, bool>>(propCompExpr, paramExpr);
}
You can then use it like this:
public class SubObject : BaseObject
{
public int Id { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
private Func<BaseObject, bool> eqFunc;
public bool IsEqualTo(SubObject other)
{
if(this.eqFunc == null)
{
var compExpr = this.CreatePropertiesEqualExpression(other);
this.eqFunc = compExpr.Compile();
}
return this.eqFunc(other);
}
}