Creating dynamic class from a string containing the class definition

Question

I have a stored procedure which accepts the table name, then it reads the table structure and returns me the table structure in the form of a class definition in a string.

E.g.:

string myString = 
 "
   public class TableName
   { 
     public int Column1 { get; set; } 
   }
 "

Is it possible a create a Class/Type from the string containing the class definition ? For eg:-

Type type = GenerateType(myString);

I have to pass this type variable to my further piece of code so please help me to create class/type from the string containing the class definition.

Try Roslyn. But what do you plan to do with instances of a class whose type is unknown at compile time? — 15ee8f99-57ff-4f92-890c-b56153
– 15ee8f99-57ff-4f92-890c-b56153, Commented Jan 2, 2018 at 14:08
I think you are actually looking for serialization. There are many ways to achieve this, it depends on your needs and the complexity of your classes. Usually, serializing to/from Json is sufficient for many cases. — Rob
– Rob, Commented Jan 2, 2018 at 14:12
Create new type at runtime is very complex do you really need that? I suggest you to find alternatives maybe dynamic or ExpandoObject can help? If you find you have to create a new type give TypeBuilder a look. — YuvShap
– YuvShap, Commented Jan 2, 2018 at 14:43
This is going to sound like I'm being facetious, but I'm not. Execute the stored procedure, copy the class definition it generates, and then paste that into a class file in your project. Then you will have achieved what you asked in your question - you will have created a type to hold the output of the stored procedure. — Scott Hannen
– Scott Hannen, Commented Jan 2, 2018 at 16:50

Craylen · Accepted Answer · 2018-01-02 15:16:55Z

9

You can use the CSharpCodeProvider to compile your result at runtime and then use the Activator - Class to create an object from your generated code.

// compile your piece of code to dll file
Microsoft.CSharp.CSharpCodeProvider cSharpCodeProvider = new Microsoft.CSharp.CSharpCodeProvider();
System.CodeDom.Compiler.CompilerParameters compilerParameters = new System.CodeDom.Compiler.CompilerParameters();
compilerParameters.GenerateInMemory = true;
compilerParameters.GenerateExecutable = false;
System.CodeDom.Compiler.CompilerResults cResult = cSharpCodeProvider.CompileAssemblyFromSource(compilerParameters, "using System; namespace Tables { 'put here your class definition' }");

// then load your dll file, get type and object from class
Assembly assembly = cResult.CompiledAssembly;
Type myTableType = assembly.GetType("Tables.Tablename");
var finalResult = Activator.CreateInstance(myTableType);

answered Jan 2, 2018 at 15:16

Craylen

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4 Comments

Ankur Arora Over a year ago

Thank you very much. This works just perfectly. Saved my time

Ankur Arora Over a year ago

Getting an issue in this line 'Assembly assembly = cResult.CompiledAssembly'. This works if I am in the executing assembly (For eg:- Main method is in the same assembly) but in my scenario this code is inside a DLL and I am referring this DLL in my startUp project. In this case I am getting exception 'Cannot load file or assembly'

Craylen Over a year ago

Check your cResult.Errors => i suggest your code doesn't compile

Ankur Arora Over a year ago

Yes, There was an error in cResult. Fixed and working now. Many thanks

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