reflection on List and printing values - c#

I wrote a method that accepts a generic parameter and then it prints its properties. I use it to test my web service. It's working but I want to add some features that I don't know how to implement. I want to print values of lists, because now it just writes System.Collection.Generic.List1 which is expected.
Here is my code so far, this is working for basic types (int, double etc.):
static void printReturnedProperties<T>(T Object)
{
PropertyInfo[] propertyInfos = null;
propertyInfos = Object.GetType().GetProperties();
foreach (var item in propertyInfos)
Console.WriteLine(item.Name + ": " + item.GetValue(Object).ToString());
}

You could do something like this:
static void printReturnedProperties(Object o)
{
PropertyInfo[] propertyInfos = null;
propertyInfos = o.GetType().GetProperties();
foreach (var item in propertyInfos)
{
var prop = item.GetValue(o);
if(prop == null)
{
Console.WriteLine(item.Name + ": NULL");
}
else
{
Console.WriteLine(item.Name + ": " + prop.ToString());
}
if (prop is IEnumerable)
{
foreach (var listitem in prop as IEnumerable)
{
Console.WriteLine("Item: " + listitem.ToString());
}
}
}
}
It will then enumerate through any IEnumerable and print out the individual values (I'm printing them one per line, but obviously, you can do different.)

The elements inside a list can be retrieved through the indexer property Item. This property accepts an index argument (there is an overload of PropertyInfo.GetValue that accept an object array, just like MethodInfo.Invoke) and returns the object at that position.
int index = /* the index you want to get here */;
PropertyInfo indexer = Object.GetProperty("Item");
object item = indexer.GetValue(Object, new object[] { index });

I usually prints list with a , between each item.
To make that easy I have created a simple extension method:
public static class ListEx
{
public static string StringJoin<T>(this IEnumerable<T> items)
{
return string.Join(", ", items);
}
}
Call the method as myList.StringJoin().
You can of course modify the method to use another delimiter och call string.Join directly.

Here is a snippet, assuming that your List is of Type T.
foreach (PropertyInfo item in propertyInfos)
{
Object obj = item.GetValue(object,null);
if (!obj.GetType().IsValueType)
{
if (obj.GetType() == typeof(String))
{
Console.WriteLine(obj.ToString());
}
else if (obj.GetType() == typeof(List<T>))
{
//run a loop and print the list
}
else if (obj.GetType().IsArray) // this means its Array
{
//run a loop to print the array
}
}
else
{
//its primitive so we will convert to string
Console.WriteLine(obj.ToString());
}

I think you want something like this:
public class Program
{
public static void PrintProperties<T>(T t)
{
var properties = t.GetType().GetProperties();
foreach (var property in properties)
{
var name = property.Name;
var value = property.GetValue(t, null);
if (property.PropertyType.IsGenericType && property.PropertyType == typeof(IEnumerable<>))
{
var formatList = typeof(Program).GetMethod("FormatList", new[] { value.GetType() });
// value.GetType().GetGenericArguments().First() will get you the underlying type of the list,
// i.e., the TItemType where the property you are currently
// handling is of type IEnumerable<TItemType>
formatList.MakeGenericMethod(value.GetType().GetGenericArguments().First());
value = formatList.Invoke(null, new object[] { value });
Console.Out.WriteLine(name + ": " + value);
}
else
{
Console.Out.WriteLine(name + ": " + value);
}
}
}
public static string FormatList<TPlaceholder>(IEnumerable<TPlaceholder> l)
{
return string.Join(", ", l);
}
}
The code is untested but basically, you want to tackle enumerable types differently as compared to scalar values, so once you hit something of the type IEnumerable<TItemType>, you make a call to the FormatList<TPlaceholder> method.
Now, bear in mind that your original T and TItemType are not necessarily the same. When you invoke FormatList using reflection, you want to bind the TPlaceholder to TItemType. Once you have done that, you just invoke the formatting method and pass it the actual instance of the list, which returns you a string. That string you can then just output.
Hope that helps.

Borrowing heavily on the above examples, here is my full solution. This has been tested and handles IEnumerable's being passed in by printing out the properties of each element. It's not recursive but that's easy enough to add.
Be aware that many of the above examples will crash with indexed properties (lists for example).
Parameter count mismatch in property.GetValue().
It's avoided here by filtering properties which have indexed properties using this bit of LINQ.
Where(x=>!x.GetIndexParameters().Any())
Full example in the form of an extension method below.
/// <summary>
/// Returns string representation of object property states i.e. Name: Jim, Age: 43
/// </summary>
public static string GetPropertyStateList(this object obj)
{
if (obj == null) return "Object null";
var sb = new StringBuilder();
var enumerable = obj as IEnumerable;
if (enumerable != null)
{
foreach (var listitem in enumerable)
{
sb.AppendLine();
sb.Append(ReadProperties(listitem));
}
}
else
{
sb.Append(ReadProperties(obj));
}
return sb.ToString();
}
private static string ReadProperties(object obj)
{
var sb = new StringBuilder();
var propertyInfos = obj.GetType().GetProperties().OrderBy(x => x.Name).Where(x=>!x.GetIndexParameters().Any());
foreach (var prop in propertyInfos)
{
var value = prop.GetValue(obj, null) ?? "(null)";
sb.AppendLine(prop.Name + ": " + value);
}
return sb.ToString();
}

Related

Generic Method of Searching all Fields within an IEnumerable for any match in c#

I code below that works well with an API for the DataTables plugin; for each column that the DataTables searches in, regardless of type, the filter works as expected based on what is supplied.
DataTables also has a "Global" search feature where you can search in one field and if there is a match in ANY of the rows for said data then a match is returned.
What I am Hoping For:
A way to perform a search on an IEnumerable such that if any of the fields match the search the result is returned.
NameValueCollection nvc = HttpUtility.ParseQueryString(Request.RequestUri.Query);
var generalSearch = nvc["sSearch"];
if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(generalSearch))
{
var generalSearchProperties = typeof(T).GetProperties();
foreach (var currentProperty in generalSearchProperties)
{
Type propType = currentProperty.PropertyType;
set = set.Where(StaticUtility.PropertyEquals<T>(currentProperty, generalSearch, propType));
/* ^^^^^ */
/*
Instead of the "Where" here I am looking for something like "where or" which can be added to the IEnumerable.
*/
}
}
Original Code:
protected virtual IQueryable<T> FilterEntitiesBySearchParameters(IQueryable<T> set)
{
try
{
NameValueCollection nvc = HttpUtility.ParseQueryString(Request.RequestUri.Query);
var props = typeof(T).GetProperties();
foreach (var prop in props)
{
var name = prop.Name;
var val = nvc[name];
Type propType = prop.PropertyType;
if (val != null)
{
set = set.Where(StaticUtility.PropertyEquals<T>(prop, val, propType));
}
if (nvc.GetPairs().Where(p => p.Value == name).Where(p => p.Key.StartsWith("mDataProp")).Any())
{
var key = nvc.GetPairs().Where(p => p.Value == name).Where(p => p.Key.StartsWith("mDataProp")).FirstOrDefault().Key;
key = key.Replace("mDataProp", "sSearch");
val = nvc[key];
if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(val))
set = set.Where(StaticUtility.PropertyEquals<T>(prop, val, propType));
}
}
return set;
} catch (Exception exc)
{
return set;
}
}
If I understand your request correctly, you basically want to search through your data and match any field for equality? If that's true, then simply add your matching data to a new set, and filter it by .Distinct() after the fact, to make sure you get one record of each. Something like so...
NameValueCollection nvc = HttpUtility.ParseQueryString(Request.RequestUri.Query);
var results = new IEnumerable<T>();
var generalSearch = nvc["sSearch"];
if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(generalSearch))
{
var generalSearchProperties = typeof(T).GetProperties();
foreach (var currentProperty in generalSearchProperties)
{
Type propType = currentProperty.PropertyType;
results.AddRange(set.Where(StaticUtility.PropertyEquals<T>(currentProperty, generalSearch, propType)));
}
}
return results.Distinct();
You could try to first create a BinaryExpression consisting of all the different options, then pass that expression to the Where() method of the query.
Assuming your StaticUtility class is used to create expressions, you might try something like the following:
NameValueCollection nvc = HttpUtility.ParseQueryString(Request.RequestUri.Query);
// Container for filter expression
BinaryExpression filter = null;
var generalSearch = nvc["sSearch"];
if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(generalSearch)) {
var generalSearchProperties = typeof(T).GetProperties();
foreach (var currentProperty in generalSearchProperties) {
Type propType = currentProperty.PropertyType;
if (filter == null) {
// Start with first filter expression
filter = StaticUtility.PropertyEquals<T>(currentProperty, generalSearch, propType);
} else {
// Add another filter using OR
BinaryExpression other = StaticUtility.PropertyEquals<T>(currentProperty, generalSearch, propType);
filter = BinaryExpression.OrElse(filter, other);
}
}
}
// Add actual filter to query
set = set.Where(filter);

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);
}

Is there a quick way to convert an entity to .csv file?

at present, I have:
string outputRow = string.Empty;
foreach (var entityObject in entityObjects)
{
outputRow = entityObject.field1 + "," + entityObject.Field2 etc....
}
I'm still new to the Entity Framework, is there a quicker way?
Sample code that shows a simple yet powerful way of accomplishing what you want with no need to hard code property names (using reflection):
/// <summary>
/// Creates a comma delimeted string of all the objects property values names.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="obj">object.</param>
/// <returns>string.</returns>
public static string ObjectToCsvData(object obj)
{
if (obj == null)
{
throw new ArgumentNullException("obj", "Value can not be null or Nothing!");
}
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
Type t = obj.GetType();
PropertyInfo[] pi = t.GetProperties();
for (int index = 0; index < pi.Length; index++)
{
sb.Append(pi[index].GetValue(obj, null));
if (index < pi.Length - 1)
{
sb.Append(",");
}
}
return sb.ToString();
}
More on this:
Objects to CSV
How can i convert a list of objects to csv
Are there any CSV readers/writer lib’s in c#
Writing a CSV file in .net
LINQ to CSV : Getting data the way you want
LINQ to CSV library
I took Leniel's suggestion and wrapped it up in a full featured "writer" that also allows you to filter the properties you want written. Here's the code for your usage:
public class CsvFileWriter
{
public static void WriteToFile<T>(string filePath, List<T> objs, string[] propertyNames)
{
var builder = new StringBuilder();
var propertyInfos = RelevantPropertyInfos<T>(propertyNames);
foreach (var obj in objs)
builder.AppendLine(CsvDataFor(obj, propertyInfos));
File.WriteAllText(filePath, builder.ToString());
}
public static void WriteToFileSingleFieldOneLine<T>(string filePath, List<T> objs, string propertyName)
{
var builder = new StringBuilder();
var propertyInfos = RelevantPropertyInfos<T>(new[] { propertyName });
for (var i = 0; i < objs.Count; i++)
{
builder.Append(CsvDataFor(objs[i], propertyInfos));
if (i < objs.Count - 1)
builder.Append(",");
}
File.WriteAllText(filePath, builder.ToString());
}
private static List<PropertyInfo> RelevantPropertyInfos<T>(IEnumerable<string> propertyNames)
{
var propertyInfos = typeof(T).GetProperties().Where(p => propertyNames.Contains(p.Name)).ToDictionary(pi => pi.Name, pi => pi);
return (from propertyName in propertyNames where propertyInfos.ContainsKey(propertyName) select propertyInfos[propertyName]).ToList();
}
private static string CsvDataFor(object obj, IList<PropertyInfo> propertyInfos)
{
if (obj == null)
return "";
var builder = new StringBuilder();
for (var i = 0; i < propertyInfos.Count; i++)
{
builder.Append(propertyInfos[i].GetValue(obj, null));
if (i < propertyInfos.Count - 1)
builder.Append(",");
}
return builder.ToString();
}
}
string csv = "";
//get property names from the first object using reflection
IEnumerable<PropertyInfo> props = entityObjects.First().GetType().GetProperties();
//header
csv += String.Join(", ",props.Select(prop => prop.Name)) + "\r\n";
//rows
foreach(var entityObject in entityObjects)
{
csv += String.Join(", ", props.Select(
prop => ( prop.GetValue(entityObject, null) ?? "" ).ToString()
) )
+ "\r\n";
}
Would be better to use StringBuilder for lots of entitys
The code doesn't check for when entityObjects is empty

Can I use reflection and a string to get/set the correct property of an object?

I am using c# & .NET 3.5. A vendor gives us an object that has properties of UserVarNbr1, UserVarData1, UserVarNbr2, UserVarData2,... UserVarNbrN, UserVarDataN. Not the way I would have coded it but nonetheless, this is what we have to work with. Another object in the application returns a collection of items used to represent these UserVariables.
The collection items have properties like this
public string VariableName
{
get { return _VariableName; }
set { _VariableName = value; }
}
public string VariableData
{
get { return _VariableData; }
set { _VariableData = value; }
}
I need to loop through the collection and create an instance of the vendor object and set the correct properties. UserVarNbrN, UserVarDataN needs to be put in the correct place. Note the collection returns a VariableName as a string "03", this needs to drive VendorObject properties UserVarNbr3, UserVarData3 **notice no "0" in the actual property name. How do I reference the correct property to get/set?
var o = new VendorObj();
I have something like this so far.
foreach (var item in userVars)
{
const string propPrefix = "UserVar";
int varNum;
var isNum = int.TryParse(item.VariableName, out varNum);
if(isNum)
{
PropertyInfo pi;
//this is where I am stuck
// I need to set the corresponding properties on o
// example if varNum == 38, how do I reference
// o.(propPrefix+"Nbr"+varNum.ToString())
// and
// o.(propPrefix+"Data"+varNum.ToString())
// so I may set them?
}
}
Any help is appreciated. I am a rookie when it come to reflection.
Thanks,
~ck in San Diego
VendorObj vndr = new VendorObj();
Console.WriteLine("\nInitial value of instance property: {0}", vndr.InstanceProperty);
PropertyInfo piInstance = typeof(VendorObj).GetProperty("InstanceProperty");
Object obj = piInstance.GetValue(vndr, null);
piInstance.SetValue(vndr, 37, null);
Console.WriteLine("Final value of instance property: {0}", vndr.InstanceProperty);
Try this:
const string propPrefix = "UserVar";
VendorObj o = new VendorObj();
foreach (var item in userVars)
{
int varNum = 0;
if (Int32.TryParse(item.VariableName, out varNum))
{
string name = String.Format("{0}Nbr{1}", propPrefix, varNum);
o.GetType().GetProperty(name).SetValue(o, "some value", null);
}
}
Since you will be setting many properties on the one object, you are better off getting the PropertyDescriptorCollection
var o = new VendorObj();
PropertyDescriptorCollection properties = TypeDescriptor.GetProperties(o);
foreach (var item in userVars)
{
const string propPrefix = "userVar";
int varNum;
if (int.TryParse(item.VariableName, out varNum))
{
PropertyDescriptor property = properties.Find(propPrefix + "Nbr" + varNum, true);
property.SetValue(o, item.VariableData);
}
}

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