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C# How To Initialize a generic Class with a type variable

disclaimer I'm a newbie in understanding Reflection.
abstract class BaseClass<T>
{
public abstract T Value { get; }
public virtual bool CheckValue(string input)
{
return true;
}
}
class NotBaseClassA : BaseClass<string>
{
public override string Value { get => "Yes";}
public override bool CheckValue(string input)
{
return 1 == 2;
}
}
class NotBaseClassB : BaseClass<int>
{
public override int Value { get => 1; }
}
class ManyBaseClasses
{
public NotBaseClassB notBaseClassB;
public NotBaseClassA notBaseClassA;
}
class Programm
{
public void Main()
{
foreach (PropertyInfo pi in typeof(ManyBaseClasses).GetProperties())
{
string input = Console.ReadLine();
//Get the generic type of the propertyInfo
//BaseClass<type> bt = new BaseClass<type>();
//Instantiate BaseClass not as a var So I can do
//BaseClass.CheckValue(input)
}
}
}
I'm just trying to do like the title says. So i saw this answer but the answer returns a 'var' but I cant call my CheckValue() function from a type var. (Or i dont think I can?). What i Need is to Instantiate my BaseClass<> with the correct type from a type variable and not as a var, as a proper BaseClass obj so i can then call my functions.
Edit 1 : i've already managed to get the generic type in the variable by doing something like that
public static System.Type GetBaseClassType(this System.Type type)
{
System.Type[] types = new System.Type[]{ };
while (type != null && type != typeof(object) || types.Length == 0)
{
types = type.GetGenericArguments();
if (types.Length > 0)
{
return types[0];
}
type = type.BaseType;
}
return null;
}

The base class is not relevant in this case, as it's abstract, so you actually want to instantiate the derived class.
All you need to do to create it is
Activator.CreateInstance(pi.PropertyType)
Then you will need to use reflection on that result to call CheckValue, because there is no common base type or interface.
It might be easier to extract the non-generic code into a BaseBaseClass which is not generic, which means you don't need reflection for the second step.
abstract class BaseBaseClass
{
public virtual bool CheckValue(string input)
{
return true;
}
}
abstract class BaseClass<T> : BaseBaseClass
{
public abstract T Value { get; }
}
Then you can just do
((BaseBaseClass) Activator.CreateInstance(pi.PropertyType)).CheckValue(someInput)

I've done that before, but it was a long time ago. You have to create instance via reflection and call the method via reflection.
foreach (PropertyInfo pi in typeof(ManyBaseClasses).GetProperties())
{
string input = Console.ReadLine();
//Get the generic type of the propertyInfo
var propType = pi.Type;
Type[] typeArgs = { propType };
var genType = d1.MakeGenericType(typeArgs);
//BaseClass<type> bt = new BaseClass<type>();
object bt = Activator.CreateInstance(genType);
//Instantiate BaseClass not as a var So I can do
//BaseClass.CheckValue(input)
MethodInfo method = typeof(bt).GetMethod("CheckValue"));
method.Invoke(bt, new[] { input });
}

Mapping similar objects using reflection: Object does not match target type

I am at a complete loss here, despite looking at multiple SO posts and anything else I can think of.
My goal here is to make a really, really simple mapper. Something I can basically use as a tool in some unit tests. It doesn't need to be sophisticated or anything -- just map high-level primitive and string values of one object to another. So the basic algorithm is:
Get all properties from TFrom
Get all properties from TTo
Get all properties that are in both, matched by name.
I know this could be a bug in that they could have the same name but a different type, but let's set that aside. It's not what I'm running into here -- the properties and types match between classes.
Create an instance of TTo that we can copy to.
For each property that was mapped between the objects:
Get the value off of the from object
Convert the value to the type of the property
Set the value on the to object
The problem is that no matter what I do, and no matter what the type of the property is (int or string, for example) I get the following:
Object does not match the target type.
Here is the code I'm using:
public TTo Map<TFrom, TTo>(TFrom from)
{
if (from == null) return default;
var fromProps = GetProperties(typeof(TFrom));
var toProps = GetProperties(typeof(TTo));
// Props that can be mapped from one to the other
var propsToCopy = fromProps.Intersect(toProps, new PropertyComparer()).ToList();
var returnObject = (TTo)Activator.CreateInstance(typeof(TTo));
foreach (var prop in propsToCopy)
{
// Copy the values
var fromValue = prop.GetValue(from, null);
var convertedValue = Convert.ChangeType(fromValue, prop.PropertyType);
prop.SetValue(returnObject, convertedValue, null);
}
return returnObject;
}
public PropertyInfo[] GetProperties(Type objectType)
{
var allProps = objectType.GetProperties(
BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Instance);
return allProps.Where(p => p.PropertyType.IsPrimitive ||
p.PropertyType == typeof(string)).ToArray();
}
private class PropertyComparer : IEqualityComparer<PropertyInfo>
{
public bool Equals(PropertyInfo x, PropertyInfo y)
{
return x.Name.Equals(y.Name);
}
public int GetHashCode(PropertyInfo obj)
{
return obj.Name.GetHashCode();
}
}
And here's an example of a way I would call it, with sample classes:
public class Foo
{
public string StringProp { get; set; }
public int IntProp { get; set; }
}
public class FooOther
{
public string StringProp { get; set; }
public int IntProp { get; set; }
}
var foo = new Foo { IntProp = 1, StringProp = "foo" };
var mappedFoo = Map<Foo, FooOther>(foo);
About the only hint I've gotten out of Visual Studio is from the watch window: if the property type is a string, the watch window reports the type of convertedValue as object. If the property type is an int, the watch window reports object {int}.

The PropertyInfo you are using is still coupled to the type the property it is representing is a member of, so you aren't able to use it to set the value of an object of another type without the error you are getting.
Here's a shortened example of the behavior:
public class A {
public string Id {get;set;}
}
public class B {
public string Id {get;set;}
}
void Main()
{
var test = new A() { Id = "Test"};
var prop = test.GetType().GetProperty("Id");
var b = (B)Activator.CreateInstance(typeof(B));
var fromValue = prop.GetValue(test);
var converted = Convert.ChangeType(fromValue, prop.PropertyType);
prop.SetValue(b, converted, null); // Exception
}
This makes sense if you think of the PropertyInfo as a member of A. To fix this, you'll want to get a property info that's specific to your type. I can fix up my example with the following:
var propTo = typeof(B).GetProperty(prop.Name);
propTo.SetValue(b, converted, null);
Console.WriteLine(b.Id); // Output: Test
Bringing that together, if you change the contents of your foreach to the following you should be in the clear:
foreach (var prop in propsToCopy)
{
// Copy the values
var fromValue = prop.GetValue(from, null);
var convertedValue = Convert.ChangeType(fromValue, prop.PropertyType);
var propTo = typeof(TTO).GetProperty(prop.Name);
propTo.SetValue(returnObject, convertedValue, null);
}

Create instance of property's unknown class type at runtime

I need to detect when a property's type is a class type and its constructors arguments if any. The classes will vary and cannot be hard coded. I've got a property type like below and using reflection I'm handling the properties differently depending upon determined type.
public class SomeClass
{
// Process this one and instantiate its class type
public WhateverClass Whatever
{
get;
set;
}
// This one will be skipped since its not a user defined class type
public string SomePropName
{
get;
set;
}
}
Now when I reflect the properties in the class (SomeClass for ex.) I need to do something different with the property types but there are some types that are classes and they may or may not have arguments needed in the constructors but since its all determined at run time I have to reflect the constructor dynamically.
if (propertyInfo.PropertyType.IsClass)
{
var propType = propertyInfo.PropertyType.UnderlyingSystemType;
// Something like this
var ctx = propType.GetConstructor(BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Instance, null, CallingConventions.Any, null, null);
// todo: instanciate new class instance
}
Now is there a better way to skin this cat and if not how can I create the class when I wont know the constructor arguments?
Thanks

If you need to know any/all constructors for an object, there is a "GetConstructors" method that returns an array of constructors for the class:
propType.GetConstructors();
Ex:
classes
public class PropertyClass
{
public PropertyClass()
{
Value = "default";
}
public PropertyClass(string value)
{
Value = value;
}
public string Value { get; private set; }
}
public class WhateverClass
{
public PropertyClass Property { get; set; }
}
...
usage
var propertyInstances = GeneratePropertyForEachConstructor(typeof(WhateverClass), "Property").Cast<PropertyClass>();
foreach (PropertyClass propertyInstance in propertyInstances)
{
Console.WriteLine("value: {0}", propertyInstance.Value);
}
...
methods:
public List<object> GeneratePropertyForEachConstructor(Type type, string propertyName)
{
var propertyInfo = type.GetProperty(propertyName);
return GeneratePropertyForEachConstructor(type, propertyInfo);
}
public List<object> GeneratePropertyForEachConstructor(Type type, PropertyInfo propertyInfo)
{
List<object> results = new List<object>();
if (propertyInfo.PropertyType.IsClass)
{
var propType = propertyInfo.PropertyType.UnderlyingSystemType;
var constructors = propType.GetConstructors();
foreach (ConstructorInfo constructorInfo in constructors)
{
var parameterInfo = constructorInfo.GetParameters();
var constructorParams = new List<object>();
foreach (ParameterInfo constructorParam in parameterInfo)
{
object value = constructorParam.HasDefaultValue
? constructorParam.DefaultValue
: constructorParam.ParameterType.IsValueType
? Activator.CreateInstance(constructorParam.ParameterType)
: null;
constructorParams.Add(value);
}
results.Add(constructorInfo.Invoke(constructorParams.ToArray()));
}
}
return results;
}
output
value: default
value:
in this case we can see that it looped through both of the constructors and passed in the default value for string for the constructor that has a string parameter.

Dynamically access class and its property in C#

I need to access something like strClassname.strPropertyName I will have different values for strClassname and strProperty name in program execution.
Please direct me in right way.

Sounds to me like you are trying to get (or set) the value of a property on an object at runtime. So here's the most basic way to do this:
public static object GetPropertyValue(object instance, string strPropertyName)
{
Type type = instance.GetType();
System.Reflection.PropertyInfo propertyInfo = type.GetProperty(strPropertyName);
return propertyInfo.GetValue(instance, null);
}
... and to set a value:
public static void SetPropertyValue(object instance, string strPropertyName, object newValue)
{
Type type = instance.GetType();
System.Reflection.PropertyInfo propertyInfo = type.GetProperty(strPropertyName);
propertyInfo.SetValue(instance, newValue, null);
}
If you're attempting to get the names of properties of a class, here's a function for that:
public static IEnumerable<string> GetPropertyNames(string className)
{
Type type = Type.GetType(className);
return type.GetProperties().Select(p => p.Name);
}
Say that you have 100 objects, and you want to get the value of the Name property on each of them, here's a function that will do that:
public static IEnumerable<String> GetNames(IEnumerable<Object> objects, string nameProperty = "Name")
{
foreach (var instance in objects)
{
var type = instance.GetType();
var property = type.GetProperty(nameProperty);
yield return property.GetValue(instance, null) as string;
}
}

You can use reflection:
To get names of properties for a specific type use method Type.GetProper­ties. Method returns array of PropertyInfo objects and the property names are available through PropertyInfo.Name property. If you want to get only subset of all properties (e.g. only public static ones) use BindingFlags when calling GetProperties method. You have to specify at least two flags, one from Public/NonPublic and one of Instance/Static flags. If you use GetProperties without a BindingFlags parameter, default flags are Public + NonPublic + Instance.
Following example shows how to get public static properties.
using System.Reflection; // reflection namespace
// get all public static properties of MyClass type
PropertyInfo[] propertyInfos;
propertyInfos = typeof(MyClass).GetProperties(BindingFlags.Public |
BindingFlags.Static);
// sort properties by name
Array.Sort(propertyInfos,
delegate(PropertyInfo propertyInfo1, PropertyInfo propertyInfo2)
{ return propertyInfo1.Name.CompareTo(propertyInfo2.Name); });
// write property names
foreach (PropertyInfo propertyInfo in propertyInfos)
{
Console.WriteLine(propertyInfo.Name);
}
[Source]

if there's a hundred or so classes and you know you want to access a specific property on each and you know every class will be instantiated, you should definitely consider creating an interface holding the property you wish to access ex.
public interface INamed
{
Name { get; }
}
Example usage:
var namedInstances = listOfClasses.Of<INamed>().Cast<INamed>();
foreach(var instance in namedInstances)
{
var name = instance.Name;
}
On the other hand, if you're not planning to instantiate these classes, you could try the following approach instead if the 'Name' property is static or const:
public interface INamed { } //Marker interface
public static class GetNamedHelper
{
private static IEnumerable<Type> GetAssemblyTypes(IEnumerable<Assembly> assemblies)
{
if (assemblies == null) yield break;
foreach (var assembly in assemblies.Where(assembly => assembly != null))
{
IEnumerable<Type> types;
try
{
types = assembly.GetTypes().Where(t => t != null);
}
catch (ReflectionTypeLoadException rtle)
{
types = rtle.Types.Where(t => t != null);
}
foreach (var type in types)
yield return type;
}
}
private static readonly Type namedMarkerInterface = typeof (INamed);
public static IEnumerable<string> GetNames(params Assembly[] assemblies)
{
var types = GetAssemblyTypes(assemblies)
.Where(t => t.GetInterfaces().Any(intf => intf == namedMarkerInterface));
foreach (var type in types)
{
//ex. public static string Name
var prop = type.GetProperty("Name", BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Static);
if (prop == null || !prop.CanRead) continue;
yield return prop.GetValue(null, null) as string;
//ex. public const string Name
var field = type.GetField("Name", BindingFlags.Public);
if (field == null || !field.IsStatic) continue;
yield return field.GetValue(null) as string;
}
}
}
Eitherway, you need to know which classes to check and for what.

How to get a property value based on the name

is there a way to get the value of a property of a object based on its name?
For example if I have:
public class Car : Vehicle
{
public string Make { get; set; }
}
and
var car = new Car { Make="Ford" };
I want to write a method where I can pass in the property name and it would return the property value. ie:
public string GetPropertyValue(string propertyName)
{
return the value of the property;
}

return car.GetType().GetProperty(propertyName).GetValue(car, null);

You'd have to use reflection
public object GetPropertyValue(object car, string propertyName)
{
return car.GetType().GetProperties()
.Single(pi => pi.Name == propertyName)
.GetValue(car, null);
}
If you want to be really fancy, you could make it an extension method:
public static object GetPropertyValue(this object car, string propertyName)
{
return car.GetType().GetProperties()
.Single(pi => pi.Name == propertyName)
.GetValue(car, null);
}
And then:
string makeValue = (string)car.GetPropertyValue("Make");

You want Reflection
Type t = typeof(Car);
PropertyInfo prop = t.GetProperty("Make");
if(null != prop)
return prop.GetValue(this, null);

Expanding on Adam Rackis's answer - we can make the extension method generic simply like this:
public static TResult GetPropertyValue<TResult>(this object t, string propertyName)
{
object val = t.GetType().GetProperties().Single(pi => pi.Name == propertyName).GetValue(t, null);
return (TResult)val;
}
You can throw some error handling around that too if you like.

In addition other guys answer, its Easy to get property value of any object by use Extension method like:
public static class Helper
{
public static object GetPropertyValue(this object T, string PropName)
{
return T.GetType().GetProperty(PropName) == null ? null : T.GetType().GetProperty(PropName).GetValue(T, null);
}
}
Usage is:
Car foo = new Car();
var balbal = foo.GetPropertyValue("Make");

Simple sample (without write reflection hard code in the client)
class Customer
{
public string CustomerName { get; set; }
public string Address { get; set; }
// approach here
public string GetPropertyValue(string propertyName)
{
try
{
return this.GetType().GetProperty(propertyName).GetValue(this, null) as string;
}
catch { return null; }
}
}
//use sample
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var customer = new Customer { CustomerName = "Harvey Triana", Address = "Something..." };
Console.WriteLine(customer.GetPropertyValue("CustomerName"));
}

To avoid reflection you could set up a Dictionary with your propery names as keys and functions in the dictionary value part that return the corresponding values from the properties that you request.

2 Very short options, 1 with a default value if it fails:
public object GetPropertyValue_WithDefault(
object _t,
string _prop,
object _default = null
)
{
PropertyInfo pi = _t.GetType().GetProperty(_prop);
return (pi == null
? _default
: pi.GetValue(_t, null)
);
}
public object GetPropertyValue(object _t, string _prop)
{
//because of "?." will return null if property not found
return _t.GetType().GetProperty(_prop)?.GetValue(_t, null);
}