A better way to use AutoMapper to flatten nested o

Question

I have been flattening domain objects into DTOs as shown in the example below:

public class Root
{
    public string AParentProperty { get; set; }
    public Nested TheNestedClass { get; set; }
}

public class Nested
{
    public string ANestedProperty { get; set; }
}

public class Flattened
{
    public string AParentProperty { get; set; }
    public string ANestedProperty { get; set; }
}

// I put the equivalent of the following in a profile, configured at application start
// as suggested by others:

Mapper.CreateMap<Root, Flattened>()
      .ForMember
       (
          dest => dest.ANestedProperty
          , opt => opt.MapFrom(src => src.TheNestedClass.ANestedProperty)
       );

// This is in my controller:
Flattened myFlattened = Mapper.Map<Root, Flattened>(myRoot);

I have looked at a number of examples, and so far this seems to be the way to flatten a nested hierarchy. If the child object has a number of properties, however, this approach doesn't save much coding.

I found this example:

http://consultingblogs.emc.com/owainwragg/archive/2010/12/22/automapper-mapping-from-multiple-objects.aspx

but it requires instances of the mapped objects, required by the Map() function, which won't work with a profile as I understand it.

I am new to AutoMapper, so I would like to know if there is a better way to do this.

Answer 1

Not sure if this adds value to the previous solutions, but you could do it as a two-step mapping. Be careful to map in correct order if there are naming conflicts between the parent and child (last wins).

        Mapper.CreateMap<Root, Flattened>();
        Mapper.CreateMap<Nested, Flattened>();

        var flattened = new Flattened();
        Mapper.Map(root, flattened);
        Mapper.Map(root.TheNestedClass, flattened);

Answer 2

To improve upon another answer, specify MemberList.Source for both mappings and set the nested property to be ignored. Validation then passes OK.

Mapper.Initialize(cfg =>
{
    cfg.CreateMap<SrcNested, DestFlat>(MemberList.Source);
    cfg.CreateMap<SrcRoot, DestFlat>(MemberList.Source)
        .ForSourceMember(s => s.Nested, x => x.Ignore())
        .AfterMap((s, d) => Mapper.Map(s.Nested, d));
});

Mapper.AssertConfigurationIsValid();

var dest = Mapper.Map<SrcRoot, DestFlat>(src);

Answer 3

In the latest version of AutoMapper, there's a naming convention you can use to avoid multiple .ForMember statements.

In your example, if you update your Flattened class to be:

public class Flattened
{
    public string AParentProperty { get; set; }
    public string TheNestedClassANestedProperty { get; set; }
}

You can avoid the use of the ForMember statement:

Mapper.CreateMap<Root, Flattened>();

Automapper will (by convention) map Root.TheNestedClass.ANestedProperty to Flattened.TheNestedClassANestedProperty in this case. It looks less ugly when you're using real class names, honest!

Answer 4

I wrote extension method to solve similar problem:

public static IMappingExpression<TSource, TDestination> FlattenNested<TSource, TNestedSource, TDestination>(
    this IMappingExpression<TSource, TDestination> expression,
    Expression<Func<TSource, TNestedSource>> nestedSelector,
    IMappingExpression<TNestedSource, TDestination> nestedMappingExpression)
{
    var dstProperties = typeof(TDestination).GetProperties().Select(p => p.Name);

    var flattenedMappings = nestedMappingExpression.TypeMap.GetPropertyMaps()
                                                    .Where(pm => pm.IsMapped() && !pm.IsIgnored())
                                                    .ToDictionary(pm => pm.DestinationProperty.Name,
                                                                    pm => Expression.Lambda(
                                                                        Expression.MakeMemberAccess(nestedSelector.Body, pm.SourceMember),
                                                                        nestedSelector.Parameters[0]));

    foreach (var property in dstProperties)
    {
        if (!flattenedMappings.ContainsKey(property))
            continue;

        expression.ForMember(property, opt => opt.MapFrom((dynamic)flattenedMappings[property]));
    }

    return expression;
}

So in your case it can be used like this:

var nestedMap = Mapper.CreateMap<Nested, Flattened>()
                      .IgnoreAllNonExisting();

Mapper.CreateMap<Root, Flattened>()
      .FlattenNested(s => s.TheNestedClass, nestedMap);

IgnoreAllNonExisting() is from here.

Though it's not universal solution it should be enough for simple cases.

So,

1. You don't need to follow flattening convention in destination's properties
2. Mapper.AssertConfigurationIsValid() will pass
3. You can use this method in non-static API (a Profile) as well

Answer 5

2 more possible solutions:

Mapper.CreateMap<Nested, Flattened>()
    .ForMember(s=>s.AParentProperty, o=>o.Ignore());
Mapper.CreateMap<Root, Flattened>()
    .ForMember(d => d.ANestedProperty, o => o.MapFrom(s => s.TheNestedClass));

An alternative approach would be the below, but it would not pass the Mapper.AssertConfigurationIsValid().

Mapper.CreateMap<Nested, Flattened>()
//.ForMember map your properties here
Mapper.CreateMap<Root, Flattened>()
//.ForMember... map you properties here
.AfterMap((s, d) => Mapper.Map(s.TheNestedClass, d));