Using reflection in C# to get properties of a nest

Question

Given the following objects:

public class Customer {
    public String Name { get; set; }
    public String Address { get; set; }
}

public class Invoice {
    public String ID { get; set; }
    public DateTime Date { get; set; }
    public Customer BillTo { get; set; }
}

I'd like to use reflection to go through the Invoice to get the Name property of a Customer. Here's what I'm after, assuming this code would work:

Invoice inv = GetDesiredInvoice();  // magic method to get an invoice
PropertyInfo info = inv.GetType().GetProperty("BillTo.Address");
Object val = info.GetValue(inv, null);

Of course, this fails since "BillTo.Address" is not a valid property of the Invoice class.

So, I tried writing a method to split the string into pieces on the period, and walk the objects looking for the final value I was interested in. It works okay, but I'm not entirely comfortable with it:

public Object GetPropValue(String name, Object obj) {
    foreach (String part in name.Split('.')) {
        if (obj == null) { return null; }

        Type type = obj.GetType();
        PropertyInfo info = type.GetProperty(part);
        if (info == null) { return null; }

        obj = info.GetValue(obj, null);
    }
    return obj;
}

Any ideas on how to improve this method, or a better way to solve this problem?

EDIT after posting, I saw a few related posts... There doesn't seem to be an answer that specifically addresses this question, however. Also, I'd still like the feedback on my implementation.

Answer 1

    public static string GetObjectPropertyValue(object obj, string propertyName)
    {
        bool propertyHasDot = propertyName.IndexOf(".") > -1;
        string firstPartBeforeDot;
        string nextParts = "";

        if (!propertyHasDot)
            firstPartBeforeDot = propertyName.ToLower();
        else
        {
            firstPartBeforeDot = propertyName.Substring(0, propertyName.IndexOf(".")).ToLower();
            nextParts = propertyName.Substring(propertyName.IndexOf(".") + 1);
        }

        foreach (var property in obj.GetType().GetProperties())
            if (property.Name.ToLower() == firstPartBeforeDot)
                if (!propertyHasDot)
                    if (property.GetValue(obj, null) != null)
                        return property.GetValue(obj, null).ToString();
                    else
                        return DefaultValue(property.GetValue(obj, null), propertyName).ToString();
                else
                    return GetObjectPropertyValue(property.GetValue(obj, null), nextParts);
        throw new Exception("Property '" + propertyName.ToString() + "' not found in object '" + obj.ToString() + "'");
    }

Answer 2

You have to access the ACTUAL object that you need to use reflection on. Here is what I mean:

Instead of this:

Invoice inv = GetDesiredInvoice();  // magic method to get an invoice
PropertyInfo info = inv.GetType().GetProperty("BillTo.Address");
Object val = info.GetValue(inv, null);

Do this (edited based on comment):

Invoice inv = GetDesiredInvoice();  // magic method to get an invoice
PropertyInfo info = inv.GetType().GetProperty("BillTo");
Customer cust = (Customer)info.GetValue(inv, null);

PropertyInfo info2 = cust.GetType().GetProperty("Address");
Object val = info2.GetValue(cust, null);

Look at this post for more information: Using reflection to set a property of a property of an object

Answer 3

I use following method to get the values from (nested classes) properties like

"Property"

"Address.Street"

"Address.Country.Name"

    public static object GetPropertyValue(object src, string propName)
    {
        if (src == null) throw new ArgumentException("Value cannot be null.", "src");
        if (propName == null) throw new ArgumentException("Value cannot be null.", "propName");

        if(propName.Contains("."))//complex type nested
        {
            var temp = propName.Split(new char[] { '.' }, 2);
            return GetPropertyValue(GetPropertyValue(src, temp[0]), temp[1]);
        }
        else
        {
            var prop = src.GetType().GetProperty(propName);
            return prop != null ? prop.GetValue(src, null) : null;
        }
    }

Here is the Fiddle: https://dotnetfiddle.net/PvKRH0

Answer 4

You don't explain the source of your "discomfort," but your code basically looks sound to me.

The only thing I'd question is the error handling. You return null if the code tries to traverse through a null reference or if the property name doesn't exist. This hides errors: it's hard to know whether it returned null because there's no BillTo customer, or because you misspelled it "BilTo.Address"... or because there is a BillTo customer, and its Address is null! I'd let the method crash and burn in these cases -- just let the exception escape (or maybe wrap it in a friendlier one).

Answer 5

My internet connection was down when I need to solve the same problem, so I had to 're-invent the wheel':

static object GetPropertyValue(Object fromObject, string propertyName)
{
    Type objectType = fromObject.GetType();
    PropertyInfo propInfo = objectType.GetProperty(propertyName);
    if (propInfo == null && propertyName.Contains('.'))
    {
        string firstProp = propertyName.Substring(0, propertyName.IndexOf('.'));
        propInfo = objectType.GetProperty(firstProp);
        if (propInfo == null)//property name is invalid
        {
            throw new ArgumentException(String.Format("Property {0} is not a valid property of {1}.", firstProp, fromObject.GetType().ToString()));
        }
        return GetPropertyValue(propInfo.GetValue(fromObject, null), propertyName.Substring(propertyName.IndexOf('.') + 1));
    }
    else
    {
        return propInfo.GetValue(fromObject, null);
    }
}

Pretty sure this solves the problem for any string you use for property name, regardless of extent of nesting, as long as everything's a property.

Answer 6

I know I'm a bit late to the party, and as others said, your implementation is fine
...for simple use cases.
However, I've developed a library that solves exactly that use case, Pather.CSharp.
It is also available as Nuget Package.

Its main class is Resolver with its Resolve method.
You pass it an object and the property path, and it will return the desired value.

Invoice inv = GetDesiredInvoice();  // magic method to get an invoice
var resolver = new Resolver();
object result = resolver.Resolve(inv, "BillTo.Address");

---

But it can also resolve more complex property paths, including array and dictionary access.
So, for example, if your Customer had multiple addresses

public class Customer {
    public String Name { get; set; }
    public IEnumerable<String> Addresses { get; set; }
}

you could access the second one using Addresses[1].

Invoice inv = GetDesiredInvoice();  // magic method to get an invoice
var resolver = new Resolver();
object result = resolver.Resolve(inv, "BillTo.Addresses[1]");