.net runtime type casting when using reflection
- by Mike
I have need to cast a generic list of a concrete type to a generic list of an interface that the concrete types implement. This interface list is a property on an object and I am assigning the value using reflection. I only know the value at runtime. Below is a simple code example of what I am trying to accomplish:
public void EmployeeTest()
{
IList<Employee> initialStaff = new List<Employee> { new Employee("John Smith"), new Employee("Jane Doe") };
Company testCompany = new Company("Acme Inc");
//testCompany.Staff = initialStaff;
PropertyInfo staffProperty = testCompany.GetType().GetProperty("Staff");
staffProperty.SetValue(testCompany, (staffProperty.PropertyType)initialStaff, null);
}
Classes are defined like so:
public class Company
{
private string _name;
public string Name
{
get { return _name; }
set { _name = value; }
}
private IList<IEmployee> _staff;
public IList<IEmployee> Staff
{
get { return _staff; }
set { _staff = value; }
}
public Company(string name)
{
_name = name;
}
}
public class Employee : IEmployee
{
private string _name;
public string Name
{
get { return _name; }
set { _name = value; }
}
public Employee(string name)
{
_name = name;
}
}
public interface IEmployee
{
string Name { get; set; }
}
Any thoughts?
I am using .NET 4.0. Would the new covariant or contravariant features help?
Thanks in advance.
