Develop Reference

Get values out of an object into properties of another class

i have a gridview
INSEE1 Commune
------ -------
10002 AILLEVILLE
10003 BRUN
i have a script that return a list of object.
List<object> Temp = ASPxGridView_Insee.GetSelectedFieldValues("INSEE1");
my Temp is a list of object of INSSE1 that i have selected.
but now i add Commune also, so my script become:
List<object> Temp = ASPxGridView_Insee.GetSelectedFieldValues("INSEE1","Commune");
and my Temp is list of object of INSEE1 and Commune look at image:
how can i acces 10002 and AILLEVILLE ?
i have try with cast it of my Pers_INSEE class:
public class Pers_InseeZone
{
string _Code_Insee;
public string Code_Insee
{
get { return _Code_Insee; }
set { _Code_Insee = value; }
}
string _Commune;
public string Commune
{
get { return _Commune; }
set { _Commune = value; }
}
}
foreach (var oItem in Temp )
{
Pers_InseeZone o = (Pers_InseeZone)oItem;
}
but I not work, I can not cast it.
I have tried like this:
foreach (var oItem in Temp )
{
var myTempArray = oItem as IEnumerable;
foreach (var oItem2 in myTempArray)
{
string res= oItem2.ToString();
....
the value of res = 10002, but how can I get the value of AILEVILLE ?
the value of Temp[0].GetType(); is:
Thanks in advance

Ok I thought so, so as already mentioned in the comments you have a array of objects inside each object so you need to cast first every object in your list into an array of objects: object[] then you can access each part. Here is an example that recreates your problem:
object[] array = new object[] {10002, "AILEEVILLE"};
List<object> Temp = new List<object> {array};
And the solution:
// cast here so that the compiler knows that it can be indexed
object [] obj_array = Temp[0] as object[];
List<Pers_InseeZone> persList = new List<Pers_InseeZone>();
Pers_InseeZone p = new Pers_InseeZone()
{
Code_Insee = obj_array[0].ToString(),
Commune = obj_array[1].ToString()
};
persList.Add(p);
Applied to your code it would look something like this:
List<object> Temp = ASPxGridView_Insee.GetSelectedFieldValues("INSEE1","Commune");
List<Pers_InseeZone> persList = new List<Pers_InseeZone>();
foreach (object oItem in Temp )
{
object [] obj_array = oItem as object[];
Pers_InseeZone p = new Pers_InseeZone()
{
Code_Insee = obj_array[0].ToString(),
Commune = obj_array[1].ToString()
};
persList.Add(p);
}

The problem is down to the fact your class doesn't match the same structure as the data you are getting, so it can't be cast into it.
Instead why don't you just iterate over the results and build a new instance of the class?
var tempList = new List<Pers_InseeZone>();
foreach (var oItem in Temp)
{
tempList.Add(new Pers_InseeZone(oItem[0], oItem[1]));
}
You will need to add a constructor to your Pers_InseeZone class, and assign the variables there.

How do I convert a BigQuery row to JSON using the C# API?

I am pulling some data from a BigQuery table using the code below in C#
BigQueryClient client = BigQueryClient.Create("<Project Name>");
BigQueryTable table = client.GetTable("<Database>", "Students");
string sql = $"select * FROM {table} where Marks='50'";
BigQueryResults results = client.ExecuteQuery(sql);
foreach (BigQueryRow row in results.GetRows())
{
}
I want to be able to either read the entire results variable into JSON or be able to get the JSON out of each row.
Of course, I could create a class that models the table. And inside the foreach loop, I could just read each row into the class object. The class object I can try to serialize into JSON using a third party like "newton soft".
Something like :
class Student{
int id; // assume these are columns in the db
string name;
}
My foreach would now look like:
foreach (BigQueryRow row in results.GetRows())
{
Student s=new Student();
s.id = Convert.ToString(row["id"]);
s.name= Convert.ToString(row["name"]);
// something like string x=x+ s.toJSON(); //using newton soft
}
This way string x will have the JSON generated and appended for each row.
Or is there a way I can just add each student to a collection or List and then get the JSON from the whole list?
This whole reading row by row and field by field seems tedious to me and there must be a simpler way I feel. Did not see any support from Google BigQuery for C# to directly convert to JSON. They did have something in Python.
If not then the list to JSON would be better but I am not sure if it supported.
Update :
https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/google-cloud-dotnet/blob/master/apis/Google.Cloud.BigQuery.V2/Google.Cloud.BigQuery.V2/BigQueryRow.cs
Looks like the Big Query Row class has a RawRow field which is of Type TableRow. And the class uses JSON references so , I am sure they have the data of the row in JSON format . How can I expose it to me ?

This might be a little late but you can use:
var latestResult = _bigQueryClient.ExecuteQuery($"SELECT TO_JSON_STRING(t) FROM `{ProjectId}.{DatasetId}.{TableName}` as t", null
All columns will be serialized as json and placed in the first column on each row. You can then use something like Newtonsoft to parse each row easily.

I ran into the same issue.
I am posting this solution which is not optimized for performance but very simple for multiple data types.
This allows you to deserialize anything (almost)
public class BQ
{
private string projectId = "YOUR_PROJECT_ID";
public BQ()
{
}
public List<T> Execute<T>(string sql)
{
var client = BigQueryClient.Create(projectId);
List<T> result = new List<T>();
try
{
string query = sql;
BigQueryResults results = client.ExecuteQuery(query, parameters: null);
List<string> fields = new List<string>();
foreach (var col in results.Schema.Fields)
{
fields.Add(col.Name);
}
Dictionary<string, object> rowoDict;
foreach (var row in results)
{
rowoDict = new Dictionary<string, object>();
foreach (var col in fields)
{
rowoDict.Add(col, row[col]);
}
string json = Newtonsoft.Json.JsonConvert.SerializeObject(rowoDict);
T o = Newtonsoft.Json.JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<T>(json);
result.Add(o);
}
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
Console.WriteLine(ex.ToString());
}
finally
{
client.Dispose();
Console.WriteLine("Done.");
}
return result;
}
}

You can use Newtonsoft.Json. First download by PackageManager Console the Nuget Package, here you can get the command to do that.
After download you can use it as the following code:
List<Student> list = new List<Student>();
foreach (BigQueryRow row in results.GetRows())
{
Student s=new Student();
s.id = Convert.ToString(row["id"]);
s.name= Convert.ToString(row["name"]);
list.Add(s);
}
var jsonResult = Newtonsoft.Json.JsonConvert.SerializeObject(list);
I hope this can help you.

Here is the complete solution for casting BigQueryResults or GetQueryResultsResponse or QueryResponse data to Model/JSON format using C# reflection:
public List<T> GetBQAsModel<T>(string query) where T : class, new()
{
var bqClient = GetBigqueryClient();
var res = bqClient.ExecuteQuery(query, parameters: null);
return GetModels<T>(res);
}
private List<T> GetModels<T>(BigQueryResults tableRows) where T : class, new()
{
var lst = new List<T>();
foreach (var item in tableRows)
{
var lstColumns = new T().GetType().GetProperties(BindingFlags.DeclaredOnly | BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.NonPublic).ToList();
var newObject = new T();
for (var i = 0; i < item.RawRow.F.Count; i++)
{
var name = item.Schema.Fields[i].Name;
PropertyInfo prop = lstColumns.FirstOrDefault(a => a.Name.ToLower().Equals(name.ToLower()));
if (prop == null)
{
continue;
}
var val = item.RawRow.F[i].V;
prop.SetValue(newObject, Convert.ChangeType(val, prop.PropertyType), null);
}
lst.Add(newObject);
}
return lst;
}
private List<T> GetModels<T>(GetQueryResultsResponse getQueryResultsResponse) where T : class, new()
{
var lst = new List<T>();
foreach (var item in getQueryResultsResponse.Rows)
{
var lstColumns = new T().GetType().GetProperties(BindingFlags.DeclaredOnly | BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.NonPublic).ToList();
var newObject = new T();
for (var i = 0; i < item.F.Count; i++)
{
var name = getQueryResultsResponse.Schema.Fields[i].Name;
PropertyInfo prop = lstColumns.FirstOrDefault(a => a.Name.ToLower().Equals(name.ToLower()));
if (prop == null)
{
continue;
}
var val = item.F[i].V;
prop.SetValue(newObject, Convert.ChangeType(val, prop.PropertyType), null);
}
lst.Add(newObject);
}
return lst;
}
private List<T> GetModels<T>(QueryResponse queryResponse) where T : class, new()
{
var lst = new List<T>();
foreach (var item in queryResponse.Rows)
{
var lstColumns = new T().GetType().GetProperties(BindingFlags.DeclaredOnly | BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.NonPublic).ToList();
var newObject = new T();
for (var i = 0; i < item.F.Count; i++)
{
var name = queryResponse.Schema.Fields[i].Name;
PropertyInfo prop = lstColumns.FirstOrDefault(a => a.Name.ToLower().Equals(name.ToLower()));
if (prop == null)
{
continue;
}
var val = item.F[i].V;
prop.SetValue(newObject, Convert.ChangeType(val, prop.PropertyType), null);
}
lst.Add(newObject);
}
return lst;
}

I would do something like this:
var res = Result. Getrows. Select(x=> new student(){id=x[`ID']}).
And then:
var js = json. Conver(res);
This way is much faster and clearer.

Missing something in this method to get the Entity property

private String[] GetProperties(EContent_EcontentFields eContentField)
{
List<String> list = new List<String>();
Type fieldType = eContentField.GetType();
var properties = fieldType.GetProperties();
foreach (var prop in properties)
{
if (prop.MemberType == MemberTypes.Property)
{
if (prop.PropertyType.IsGenericType)
{
dynamic items = prop.GetValue(eContentField, null);
foreach (var item in items)
{
Type typeItem = item.GetType();
list.Add(item);
}
}
}
}
return list.ToArray();
}
This is my method to retrieve an array of strings with the properties of my entity but the statement:
if (prop.PropertyType.IsGenericType)
It's always false.
I've copy-pasted the code so maybe I'm missing something. Something that I can't see.

var result = new List<string>();
var type = eContentField.GetType();
foreach (var prop in type.GetProperties())
{
result.Add(prop.Name);
}
return result.ToArray();
}
This is about twice faster than your method, if you are interested in speed.
Ps: if you change the foreach into a for loop, it wil be a bit faster, but not a lot :)

I found a solution to retrieve all the property names.
private String[] GetProperties(EContent_EcontentFields eContentField)
{
List<String> list = new List<String>();
Type type = eContentField.GetType();
var properties = type.GetProperties().Where(x => x.MemberType == MemberTypes.Property).Select(x => x.Name);
foreach (var item in properties)
{
if(item != null)
list.Add(item.ToString());
}
return list.ToArray();
}

Generic DbDataReader to List<T> mapping

I am having a slight issue (more like an annoyance) with my property binding data access classes. The problem is that the mapping fails when there exists no column in the reader for corresponding property in class.
Code
Here is the mapper class:
// Map our datareader object to a strongly typed list
private static IList<T> Map<T>(DbDataReader dr) where T : new()
{
try
{
// initialize our returnable list
List<T> list = new List<T>();
// fire up the lamda mapping
var converter = new Converter<T>();
while (dr.Read())
{
// read in each row, and properly map it to our T object
var obj = converter.CreateItemFromRow(dr);
// add it to our list
list.Add(obj);
}
// reutrn it
return list;
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
return default(List<T>);
}
}
Converter class:
/// <summary>
/// Converter class to convert returned Sql Records to strongly typed classes
/// </summary>
/// <typeparam name="T">Type of the object we'll convert too</typeparam>
internal class Converter<T> where T : new()
{
// Concurrent Dictionay objects
private static ConcurrentDictionary<Type, object> _convertActionMap = new ConcurrentDictionary<Type, object>();
// Delegate action declaration
private Action<IDataReader, T> _convertAction;
// Build our mapping based on the properties in the class/type we've passed in to the class
private static Action<IDataReader, T> GetMapFunc()
{
var exps = new List<Expression>();
var paramExp = Expression.Parameter(typeof(IDataReader), "o7thDR");
var targetExp = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "o7thTarget");
var getPropInfo = typeof(IDataRecord).GetProperty("Item", new[] { typeof(string) });
var _props = typeof(T).GetProperties();
foreach (var property in _props)
{
var getPropExp = Expression.MakeIndex(paramExp, getPropInfo, new[] { Expression.Constant(property.Name, typeof(string)) });
var castExp = Expression.TypeAs(getPropExp, property.PropertyType);
var bindExp = Expression.Assign(Expression.Property(targetExp, property), castExp);
exps.Add(bindExp);
}
// return our compiled mapping, this will ensure it is cached to use through our record looping
return Expression.Lambda<Action<IDataReader, T>>(Expression.Block(exps), new[] { paramExp, targetExp }).Compile();
}
internal Converter()
{
// Fire off our mapping functionality
_convertAction = (Action<IDataReader, T>)_convertActionMap.GetOrAdd(typeof(T), (t) => GetMapFunc());
}
internal T CreateItemFromRow(IDataReader dataReader)
{
T result = new T();
_convertAction(dataReader, result);
return result;
}
}
Exception
System.IndexOutOfRangeException {"Mileage"}
Stacktrace
at System.Data.ProviderBase.FieldNameLookup.GetOrdinal(String fieldName)
at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlDataReader.GetOrdinal(String name)
at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlDataReader.get_Item(String name)
at lambda_method(Closure , IDataReader , Typing )
at o7th.Class.Library.Data.Converter`1.CreateItemFromRow(IDataReader dataReader) in d:\Backup Folder\Development\o7th Web Design\o7th.Class.Library.C-Sharp\o7th.Class.Library\Data Access Object\Converter.cs:line 50
at o7th.Class.Library.Data.Wrapper.Map[T](DbDataReader dr) in d:\Backup Folder\Development\o7th Web Design\o7th.Class.Library.C-Sharp\o7th.Class.Library\Data Access Object\Wrapper.cs:line 33
Question
How can I fix it, so that it will not fail when I have an extra property that the reader may not have as column and vice versa? Of course the quick band-aid would be to simply add NULL As Mileage to this query in example, however, this is not a solution to the problem :)
Here's Map<T> using reflection:
// Map our datareader object to a strongly typed list
private static IList<T> Map<T>(DbDataReader dr) where T : new()
{
try
{
// initialize our returnable list
List<T> list = new List<T>();
T item = new T();
PropertyInfo[] properties = (item.GetType()).GetProperties();
while (dr.Read()) {
int fc = dr.FieldCount;
for (int j = 0; j < fc; ++j) {
var pn = properties[j].Name;
var gn = dr.GetName(j);
if (gn == pn) {
properties[j].SetValue(item, dr[j], null);
}
}
list.Add(item);
}
// return it
return list;
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
// Catch an exception if any, an write it out to our logging mechanism, in addition to adding it our returnable message property
_Msg += "Wrapper.Map Exception: " + ex.Message;
ErrorReporting.WriteEm.WriteItem(ex, "o7th.Class.Library.Data.Wrapper.Map", _Msg);
// make sure this method returns a default List
return default(List<T>);
}
}
Note:
This method is 63% slower than using expression trees...

As noted in comments, the problem is that there exists no column in the reader for the specified property. The idea is to loop by the column names of reader first, and check to see if matching property exists. But how do one get the list of column names beforehand?
One idea is to use expression trees itself to build the list of column names from the reader and check it against properties of the class. Something like this
var paramExp = Expression.Parameter(typeof(IDataRecord), "o7thDR");
var loopIncrementVariableExp = Expression.Parameter(typeof(int), "i");
var columnNamesExp = Expression.Parameter(typeof(List<string>), "columnNames");
var columnCountExp = Expression.Property(paramExp, "FieldCount");
var getColumnNameExp = Expression.Call(paramExp, "GetName", Type.EmptyTypes,
Expression.PostIncrementAssign(loopIncrementVariableExp));
var addToListExp = Expression.Call(columnNamesExp, "Add", Type.EmptyTypes,
getColumnNameExp);
var labelExp = Expression.Label(columnNamesExp.Type);
var getColumnNamesExp = Expression.Block(
new[] { loopIncrementVariableExp, columnNamesExp },
Expression.Assign(columnNamesExp, Expression.New(columnNamesExp.Type)),
Expression.Loop(
Expression.IfThenElse(
Expression.LessThan(loopIncrementVariableExp, columnCountExp),
addToListExp,
Expression.Break(labelExp, columnNamesExp)),
labelExp));
would be the equivalent of
List<string> columnNames = new List<string>();
for (int i = 0; i < reader.FieldCount; i++)
{
columnNames.Add(reader.GetName(i));
}
One may continue with the final expression, but there is a catch here making any further effort along this line futile. The above expression tree will be fetching the column names every time the final delegate is called which in your case is for every object creation, which is against the spirit of your requirement.
Another approach is to let the converter class have a pre-defined awareness of the column names for a given type, by means of attributes (see for an example) or by maintaining a static dictionary like (Dictionary<Type, IEnumerable<string>>). Though it gives more flexibility, the flip side is that your query need not always include all the column names of a table, and any reader[notInTheQueryButOnlyInTheTableColumn] would result in exception.
The best approach as I see is to fetch the column names from the reader object, but only once. I would re-write the thing like:
private static List<string> columnNames;
private static Action<IDataReader, T> GetMapFunc()
{
var exps = new List<Expression>();
var paramExp = Expression.Parameter(typeof(IDataRecord), "o7thDR");
var targetExp = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "o7thTarget");
var getPropInfo = typeof(IDataRecord).GetProperty("Item", new[] { typeof(string) });
foreach (var columnName in columnNames)
{
var property = typeof(T).GetProperty(columnName);
if (property == null)
continue;
// use 'columnName' instead of 'property.Name' to speed up reader lookups
//in case of certain readers.
var columnNameExp = Expression.Constant(columnName);
var getPropExp = Expression.MakeIndex(
paramExp, getPropInfo, new[] { columnNameExp });
var castExp = Expression.TypeAs(getPropExp, property.PropertyType);
var bindExp = Expression.Assign(
Expression.Property(targetExp, property), castExp);
exps.Add(bindExp);
}
return Expression.Lambda<Action<IDataReader, T>>(
Expression.Block(exps), paramExp, targetExp).Compile();
}
internal T CreateItemFromRow(IDataReader dataReader)
{
if (columnNames == null)
{
columnNames = Enumerable.Range(0, dataReader.FieldCount)
.Select(x => dataReader.GetName(x))
.ToList();
_convertAction = (Action<IDataReader, T>)_convertActionMap.GetOrAdd(
typeof(T), (t) => GetMapFunc());
}
T result = new T();
_convertAction(dataReader, result);
return result;
}
Now that begs the question why not pass the data reader directly to constructor? That would be better.
private IDataReader dataReader;
private Action<IDataReader, T> GetMapFunc()
{
var exps = new List<Expression>();
var paramExp = Expression.Parameter(typeof(IDataRecord), "o7thDR");
var targetExp = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "o7thTarget");
var getPropInfo = typeof(IDataRecord).GetProperty("Item", new[] { typeof(string) });
var columnNames = Enumerable.Range(0, dataReader.FieldCount)
.Select(x => dataReader.GetName(x));
foreach (var columnName in columnNames)
{
var property = typeof(T).GetProperty(columnName);
if (property == null)
continue;
// use 'columnName' instead of 'property.Name' to speed up reader lookups
//in case of certain readers.
var columnNameExp = Expression.Constant(columnName);
var getPropExp = Expression.MakeIndex(
paramExp, getPropInfo, new[] { columnNameExp });
var castExp = Expression.TypeAs(getPropExp, property.PropertyType);
var bindExp = Expression.Assign(
Expression.Property(targetExp, property), castExp);
exps.Add(bindExp);
}
return Expression.Lambda<Action<IDataReader, T>>(
Expression.Block(exps), paramExp, targetExp).Compile();
}
internal Converter(IDataReader dataReader)
{
this.dataReader = dataReader;
_convertAction = (Action<IDataReader, T>)_convertActionMap.GetOrAdd(
typeof(T), (t) => GetMapFunc());
}
internal T CreateItemFromRow()
{
T result = new T();
_convertAction(dataReader, result);
return result;
}
Call it like
List<T> list = new List<T>();
var converter = new Converter<T>(dr);
while (dr.Read())
{
var obj = converter.CreateItemFromRow();
list.Add(obj);
}
There are a number of improvements that I can suggest, though.
The generic new T() you're calling in CreateItemFromRow is slower, it uses reflection behind the scenes. You can delegate that part to expression trees as well which should be faster
Right now GetProperty call isn't case insensitive, meaning your column names will have to exactly match the property name. I would make it case insensitive using one of those Bindings.Flag.
I'm not sure at all why you are using a ConcurrentDictionary as a caching mechanism here. A static field in a generic class <T> will be unique for every T. The generic field itself can act as cache. Also why is the Value part of ConcurrentDictionary of type object?
As I said earlier, it's not the best to strongly tie a type and the column names (which you're doing by caching one particular Action delegate per type). Even for the same type your queries can be different selecting different set of columns. It's best to leave it to data reader to decide.
Use Expression.Convert instead of Expression.TypeAs for value type conversion from object.
Also note that reader.GetOrdinal is much faster way to perform data reader lookups.
I would re-write the whole thing like:
readonly Func<IDataReader, T> _converter;
readonly IDataReader dataReader;
private Func<IDataReader, T> GetMapFunc()
{
var exps = new List<Expression>();
var paramExp = Expression.Parameter(typeof(IDataRecord), "o7thDR");
var targetExp = Expression.Variable(typeof(T));
exps.Add(Expression.Assign(targetExp, Expression.New(targetExp.Type)));
//does int based lookup
var indexerInfo = typeof(IDataRecord).GetProperty("Item", new[] { typeof(int) });
var columnNames = Enumerable.Range(0, dataReader.FieldCount)
.Select(i => new { i, name = dataReader.GetName(i) });
foreach (var column in columnNames)
{
var property = targetExp.Type.GetProperty(
column.name,
BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.IgnoreCase);
if (property == null)
continue;
var columnNameExp = Expression.Constant(column.i);
var propertyExp = Expression.MakeIndex(
paramExp, indexerInfo, new[] { columnNameExp });
var convertExp = Expression.Convert(propertyExp, property.PropertyType);
var bindExp = Expression.Assign(
Expression.Property(targetExp, property), convertExp);
exps.Add(bindExp);
}
exps.Add(targetExp);
return Expression.Lambda<Func<IDataReader, T>>(
Expression.Block(new[] { targetExp }, exps), paramExp).Compile();
}
internal Converter(IDataReader dataReader)
{
this.dataReader = dataReader;
_converter = GetMapFunc();
}
internal T CreateItemFromRow()
{
return _converter(dataReader);
}

C# deep/nested/recursive merge of dynamic/expando objects

I need to "merge" 2 dynamic objects in C#. All that I've found on stackexchange covered only non-recursive merging. But I am looking to something that does recursive or deep merging, very much the same like jQuery's $.extend(obj1, obj2) function.
Upon collision of two members, the following rules should apply:
If the types mismatch, an exception must be thrown and merge is aborted. Exception: obj2 Value maybe null, in this case the value & type of obj1 is used.
For trivial types (value types + string) obj1 values are always prefered
For non-trivial types, the following rules are applied:
IEnumerable & IEnumberables<T> are simply merged (maybe .Concat() ? )
IDictionary & IDictionary<TKey,TValue> are merged; obj1 keys have precedence upon collision
Expando & Expando[] types must be merged recursively, whereas Expando[] will always have same-type elements only
One can assume there are no Expando objects within Collections (IEnumerabe & IDictionary)
All other types can be discarded and need not be present in the resulting dynamic object
Here is an example of a possible merge:
dynamic DefaultConfig = new {
BlacklistedDomains = new string[] { "domain1.com" },
ExternalConfigFile = "blacklist.txt",
UseSockets = new[] {
new { IP = "127.0.0.1", Port = "80"},
new { IP = "127.0.0.2", Port = "8080" }
}
};
dynamic UserSpecifiedConfig = new {
BlacklistedDomain = new string[] { "example1.com" },
ExternalConfigFile = "C:\\my_blacklist.txt"
};
var result = Merge (UserSpecifiedConfig, DefaultConfig);
// result should now be equal to:
var result_equal = new {
BlacklistedDomains = new string[] { "domain1.com", "example1.com" },
ExternalConfigFile = "C:\\my_blacklist.txt",
UseSockets = new[] {
new { IP = "127.0.0.1", Port = "80"},
new { IP = "127.0.0.2", Port = "8080" }
}
};
Any ideas how to do this?

Right, this is a bit longwinded but have a look. it's an implementation using Reflection.Emit.
Open issue for me is how to implement a ToString() override so that you can do a string comparison. Are these values coming from a config file or something? If they are in JSON Format you could do worse than use a JsonSerializer, I think. Depends on what you want.
You could use the Expando Object to get rid of the Reflection.Emit nonsense as well, at the bottom of the loop:
var result = new ExpandoObject();
var resultDict = result as IDictionary<string, object>;
foreach (string key in resVals.Keys)
{
resultDict.Add(key, resVals[key]);
}
return result;
I can't see a way around the messy code for parsing the original object tree though, not immediately. I'd like to hear some other opinions on this. The DLR is relatively new ground for me.
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Linq;
using System.Reflection;
using System.Reflection.Emit;
using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
using System.Threading;
namespace ConsoleApplication1
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
dynamic DefaultConfig = new
{
BlacklistedDomains = new string[] { "domain1.com" },
ExternalConfigFile = "blacklist.txt",
UseSockets = new[] {
new { IP = "127.0.0.1", Port = "80" },
new { IP = "127.0.0.2", Port = "8080" }
}
};
dynamic UserSpecifiedConfig = new
{
BlacklistedDomains = new string[] { "example1.com" },
ExternalConfigFile = "C:\\my_blacklist.txt"
};
var result = Merge(UserSpecifiedConfig, DefaultConfig);
// result should now be equal to:
var result_equal = new
{
BlacklistedDomains = new string[] { "domain1.com", "example1.com" },
ExternalConfigFile = "C:\\my_blacklist.txt",
UseSockets = new[] {
new { IP = "127.0.0.1", Port = "80"},
new { IP = "127.0.0.2", Port = "8080" }
}
};
Debug.Assert(result.Equals(result_equal));
}
/// <summary>
/// Merge the properties of two dynamic objects, taking the LHS as primary
/// </summary>
/// <param name="lhs"></param>
/// <param name="rhs"></param>
/// <returns></returns>
static dynamic Merge(dynamic lhs, dynamic rhs)
{
// get the anonymous type definitions
Type lhsType = ((Type)((dynamic)lhs).GetType());
Type rhsType = ((Type)((dynamic)rhs).GetType());
object result = new { };
var resProps = new Dictionary<string, PropertyInfo>();
var resVals = new Dictionary<string, object>();
var lProps = lhsType.GetProperties().ToDictionary<PropertyInfo, string>(prop => prop.Name);
var rProps = rhsType.GetProperties().ToDictionary<PropertyInfo, string>(prop => prop.Name);
foreach (string leftPropKey in lProps.Keys)
{
var lPropInfo = lProps[leftPropKey];
resProps.Add(leftPropKey, lPropInfo);
var lhsVal = Convert.ChangeType(lPropInfo.GetValue(lhs, null), lPropInfo.PropertyType);
if (rProps.ContainsKey(leftPropKey))
{
PropertyInfo rPropInfo;
rPropInfo = rProps[leftPropKey];
var rhsVal = Convert.ChangeType(rPropInfo.GetValue(rhs, null), rPropInfo.PropertyType);
object setVal = null;
if (lPropInfo.PropertyType.IsAnonymousType())
{
setVal = Merge(lhsVal, rhsVal);
}
else if (lPropInfo.PropertyType.IsArray)
{
var bound = ((Array) lhsVal).Length + ((Array) rhsVal).Length;
var cons = lPropInfo.PropertyType.GetConstructor(new Type[] { typeof(int) });
dynamic newArray = cons.Invoke(new object[] { bound });
//newArray = ((Array)lhsVal).Clone();
int i=0;
while (i < ((Array)lhsVal).Length)
{
newArray[i] = lhsVal[i];
i++;
}
while (i < bound)
{
newArray[i] = rhsVal[i - ((Array)lhsVal).Length];
i++;
}
setVal = newArray;
}
else
{
setVal = lhsVal == null ? rhsVal : lhsVal;
}
resVals.Add(leftPropKey, setVal);
}
else
{
resVals.Add(leftPropKey, lhsVal);
}
}
foreach (string rightPropKey in rProps.Keys)
{
if (lProps.ContainsKey(rightPropKey) == false)
{
PropertyInfo rPropInfo;
rPropInfo = rProps[rightPropKey];
var rhsVal = rPropInfo.GetValue(rhs, null);
resProps.Add(rightPropKey, rPropInfo);
resVals.Add(rightPropKey, rhsVal);
}
}
Type resType = TypeExtensions.ToType(result.GetType(), resProps);
result = Activator.CreateInstance(resType);
foreach (string key in resVals.Keys)
{
var resInfo = resType.GetProperty(key);
resInfo.SetValue(result, resVals[key], null);
}
return result;
}
}
}
public static class TypeExtensions
{
public static Type ToType(Type type, Dictionary<string, PropertyInfo> properties)
{
AppDomain myDomain = Thread.GetDomain();
Assembly asm = type.Assembly;
AssemblyBuilder assemblyBuilder =
myDomain.DefineDynamicAssembly(
asm.GetName(),
AssemblyBuilderAccess.Run
);
ModuleBuilder moduleBuilder = assemblyBuilder.DefineDynamicModule(type.Module.Name);
TypeBuilder typeBuilder = moduleBuilder.DefineType(type.Name,TypeAttributes.Public);
foreach (string key in properties.Keys)
{
string propertyName = key;
Type propertyType = properties[key].PropertyType;
FieldBuilder fieldBuilder = typeBuilder.DefineField(
"_" + propertyName,
propertyType,
FieldAttributes.Private
);
PropertyBuilder propertyBuilder = typeBuilder.DefineProperty(
propertyName,
PropertyAttributes.HasDefault,
propertyType,
new Type[] { }
);
// First, we'll define the behavior of the "get" acessor for the property as a method.
MethodBuilder getMethodBuilder = typeBuilder.DefineMethod(
"Get" + propertyName,
MethodAttributes.Public,
propertyType,
new Type[] { }
);
ILGenerator getMethodIL = getMethodBuilder.GetILGenerator();
getMethodIL.Emit(OpCodes.Ldarg_0);
getMethodIL.Emit(OpCodes.Ldfld, fieldBuilder);
getMethodIL.Emit(OpCodes.Ret);
// Now, we'll define the behavior of the "set" accessor for the property.
MethodBuilder setMethodBuilder = typeBuilder.DefineMethod(
"Set" + propertyName,
MethodAttributes.Public,
null,
new Type[] { propertyType }
);
ILGenerator custNameSetIL = setMethodBuilder.GetILGenerator();
custNameSetIL.Emit(OpCodes.Ldarg_0);
custNameSetIL.Emit(OpCodes.Ldarg_1);
custNameSetIL.Emit(OpCodes.Stfld, fieldBuilder);
custNameSetIL.Emit(OpCodes.Ret);
// Last, we must map the two methods created above to our PropertyBuilder to
// their corresponding behaviors, "get" and "set" respectively.
propertyBuilder.SetGetMethod(getMethodBuilder);
propertyBuilder.SetSetMethod(setMethodBuilder);
}
//MethodBuilder toStringMethodBuilder = typeBuilder.DefineMethod(
// "ToString",
// MethodAttributes.Public,
// typeof(string),
// new Type[] { }
//);
return typeBuilder.CreateType();
}
public static Boolean IsAnonymousType(this Type type)
{
Boolean hasCompilerGeneratedAttribute = type.GetCustomAttributes(
typeof(CompilerGeneratedAttribute), false).Count() > 0;
Boolean nameContainsAnonymousType =
type.FullName.Contains("AnonymousType");
Boolean isAnonymousType = hasCompilerGeneratedAttribute && nameContainsAnonymousType;
return isAnonymousType;
}
}

This works for me, but I'm sure it could be given some love and attention and look better. It does not include your type-check but that would be rather trivial to add. So while this is not a perfect answer, I hope it can get you closer to a solution.
Subsequent calls to DynamicIntoExpando(...) will keep appending and overwriting new and existing values to the existing Source structure. You can call it as many times as you need to. The function MergeDynamic() illustrates how two dynamics are merged into one ExpandoObject.
The code basically iterates over the dynamic value, checks the type, and merge appropriately and recursively to any depth.
I wrapped it in a helper class for my own purposes.
using System.Dynamic; // For ExpandoObject
...
public static class DynamicHelper
{
// We expect inputs to be of type IDictionary
public static ExpandoObject MergeDynamic(dynamic Source, dynamic Additional)
{
ExpandoObject Result = new ExpandoObject();
// First copy 'source' to Result
DynamicIntoExpando(Result, Source);
// Then copy additional fields, boldy overwriting the source as needed
DynamicIntoExpando(Result, Additional);
// Done
return Result;
}
public static void DynamicIntoExpando(ExpandoObject Result, dynamic Source, string Key = null)
{
// Cast it for ease of use.
var R = Result as IDictionary<string, dynamic>;
if (Source is IDictionary<string, dynamic>)
{
var S = Source as IDictionary<string, dynamic>;
ExpandoObject NewDict = new ExpandoObject();
if (Key == null)
{
NewDict = Result;
}
else if (R.ContainsKey(Key))
{
// Already exists, overwrite
NewDict = R[Key];
}
var ND = NewDict as IDictionary<string, dynamic>;
foreach (string key in S.Keys)
{
ExpandoObject NewDictEntry = new ExpandoObject();
var NDE = NewDictEntry as IDictionary<string, dynamic>;
if (ND.ContainsKey(key))
{
NDE[key] = ND[key];
}
else if (R.ContainsKey(key))
{
NDE[key] = R[key];
}
DynamicIntoExpando(NewDictEntry, S[key], key);
if(!R.ContainsKey(key)) {
ND[key] = ((IDictionary<string, dynamic>)NewDictEntry)[key];
}
}
if (Key == null)
{
R = NewDict;
}
else if (!R.ContainsKey(Key))
{
R.Add(Key, NewDict);
}
}
else if (Source is IList<dynamic>)
{
var S = Source as IList<dynamic>;
List<ExpandoObject> NewList = new List<ExpandoObject>();
if (Key != null && R.ContainsKey(Key))
{
// Already exists, overwrite
NewList = (List<ExpandoObject>)R[Key];
}
foreach (dynamic D in S)
{
ExpandoObject ListEntry = new ExpandoObject();
DynamicIntoExpando(ListEntry, D);
// in this case we have to compare the ListEntry to existing entries and on
NewList.Add(ListEntry);
}
if (Key != null && !R.ContainsKey(Key))
{
R[Key] = NewList.Distinct().ToList();
}
}
else
{
R[Key] = Source;
}
}
}