Find an array property on an arbitrary object using reflection?

Question

I have some generated classes which are similar in form but have no inheritance relationships, like this:

class horse {}
class horses { public horse[] horse {get;}}
class dog {}
class dogs { public dog[] dog {get;}}
class cat {}
class cats { public cat[] cat {get;}}

I want to write a method like:

ProcessAnimals<T>(Object o)
{
 find an array property of type T[]
 iterate the array
}

So then I might do:

horses horses = ...;
ProcessAnimals<horse>(horses);

It seems like something reflection can be used for but what would that look like?

Loop through the properties using reflection, examining the IsArray property on each property's type. — D Stanley
– D Stanley, Commented Oct 19, 2016 at 14:02

Arturo Menchaca · Accepted Answer · 2016-10-19 14:17:06Z

1

You can iterate over the properties checking for arrays type:

void ProcessAnimals<T>(object o)
{
    var type = o.GetType();

    var props = type.GetProperties(BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Instance)
                    .Where(pi => pi.PropertyType.IsArray && pi.PropertyType.GetElementType().Equals(typeof(T)));

    foreach (var prop in props)
    {
        var array = (T[])prop.GetValue(o);

        foreach (var item in array)
        {
            //Do something
        }
    }
}

answered Oct 19, 2016 at 14:17

Arturo Menchaca

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2 Comments

Mr. Boy Over a year ago

Can I ask for clarification on the BindingFlags detail?

Arturo Menchaca Over a year ago

it's to check for properties that are public and instance type. To exclude for example protected and static properties.

Zoran Basic · Accepted Answer · 2016-10-19 14:13:33Z

0

I can suggest other way of doing this, without reflection, because all of this classes are basically the same:

enum AnimalType
{
Horse,
Dog,
Cat
}
class Animal
{
public AnimalType Type;
}
class Animals
{
public Animal[] Animals { get; }
}
ProcessAnimals(Animals animals)
{
// do something with animals.Animals array
}

answered Oct 19, 2016 at 14:13

Zoran Basic

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