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C# NET Looping over object properties stored in List

At the moment I'm working on funcionality that involves exporting and importing data to Xlsx file. Here's what I want to do: I want to have an attribute I can put above a property like this.
public class MyClass
{
[XlsxColumn("Column 1")]
public string myProperty1 { get; set; }
public int myProperty2 { get; set; }
}
So far I don't have problems, but then I want to "store references" to properties marked with the XlsxColumn attribute. I'm using reflection
to store properties data in List
var propsList = MyClass.GetProperties().Where(
prop => Attribute.IsDefined(prop, typeof(XlsxColumn)));
I have a list with all properties marked with XlsxColumn (only myProperty1 in this example).
EDIT: The problem is I don't know how to loop over properties in MyClass, but only properties with XlsxColumn attribute (so all PropertyInfo objects stored in propsList variable), without resorting to reflection with each object saved to Xlsx file.
I'm restricted to .NET 4.0.
Thanks for your time.

MyClass.GetProperties() does not work because you have to get the type of the class to invoke the GetProperties method. Otherwise you are invoking a static method called GetProperties defined in the MyClass class.
var propsList = typeof(MyClass).GetProperties().Where(
prop => prop.IsDefined(typeof(XlsxColumnAttribute), false)).ToList();
If you just want the names (IList<string>):
var propsList = typeof(Excel).GetProperties().Where(
prop => prop.IsDefined(typeof(XlsxColumnAttribute), false))
.Select(prop=> prop.Name)
.ToList();
to use .Where you have to include System.Linq

I must say that I am not sure if this is the solution you are looking for. Because I could not quite make out what your question is. Well I have tried to provide an answer as much as I could figure out.
I went for a static class for CachingPropetyProvider but you can go for an instance class and use a dependency injection library and use it as a Singleton too. Moreover, I have written extensive comments so It is as self explanatory as possible.
Let us define MyClass. I also deliberately changed it a little bit.
public class MyClass
{
[XlsxColumn("Column 1")]
public string MyProperty1 { get; set; }
[XlsxColumn("Column 2")]
public int MyProperty2 { get; set; }
}
I also defined a MetaInfo class to hold the cached information.
public class MetaInfo {
/// <summary>
/// Immutable class for holding PropertyInfo and XlsxColumn info.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="info">PropertyInfo</param>
/// <param name="attr">XlsxColumn</param>
public MetaInfo(PropertyInfo info, XlsxColumn attr) {
PropertyInfo = info;
Attribute = attr;
}
/// <summary>
/// PropertyInfo. You may want to access the value inside the property.
/// </summary>
public PropertyInfo PropertyInfo { get; }
/// <summary>
/// Attribute. You may want to access information hold inside the attribute.
/// </summary>
public XlsxColumn Attribute { get; }
}
And lastly the main guy. This guy is responsible for providing all the data about classes
public class CachingPropProvider {
/// <summary>
/// Holds the meta information for each type.
/// </summary>
private static readonly ConcurrentDictionary<Type, List<MetaInfo>> TypeCache;
/// <summary>
/// Static constructor is guaranteed to run only once.
/// </summary>
static CachingPropProvider() {
//Initialize the cache.
TypeCache = new ConcurrentDictionary<Type, List<MetaInfo>>();
}
/// <summary>
/// Gets the MetaInfo for the given type. Since We use ConcurrentDictionary it is thread safe.
/// </summary>
/// <typeparam name="T">Type parameter</typeparam>
public static IEnumerable<MetaInfo> GetCachedStuff<T>() {
//If Type exists in the TypeCache, return the cached value
return TypeCache.GetOrAdd(typeof(T),Factory);
}
/// <summary>
/// Factory method to use to extract MetaInfo when Cache is not hit.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="type">Type to extract info from</param>
/// <returns>A list of MetaInfo. An empty List, if no property has XlsxColumn attrbiute</returns>
private static List<MetaInfo> Factory(Type #type) {
//If Type does not exist in the TypeCahce runs Extractor
//Method to extract metainfo for the given type
return #type.GetProperties().Aggregate(new List<MetaInfo>(), Extractor);
}
/// <summary>
/// Extracts MetaInfo from the given property info then saves it into the list.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="seedList">List to save metainfo into</param>
/// <param name="propertyInfo">PropertyInfo to try to extract info from</param>
/// <returns>List of MetaInfo</returns>
private static List<MetaInfo> Extractor(List<MetaInfo> seedList,PropertyInfo propertyInfo) {
//Gets Attribute
var customattribute = propertyInfo.GetCustomAttribute<XlsxColumn>();
//If custom attribute is not null, it means it is defined
if (customattribute != null)
{
//Extract then add it into seed list
seedList.Add(new MetaInfo(propertyInfo, customattribute));
}
//Return :)
return seedList;
}
}
Finally let us see how to use the solution. It is pretty straightforward actually.
//Has 2 values inside
var info = CachingPropProvider.GetCachedStuff<MyClass>();

Non ASCII characters in C# identifiers Referenced by NHibernate

I have tried to enter non ASCII characters in C# identifiers, and the program compiles and runs just fine (at least at first glance). To be more precise, I use Croatian diacritical characters (čćđšž) in enums. I really need to use these special characters because I map string enums as value objects in NHibernate. It would be really ugly to have to avoid these standard characters when showing them as lookups to the user. Before I start using enums this way on a big scale, I really need to know if there are any implications (hidden pitfalls) to such a programming technique (especially in regard to NHibernate)? Or, if you have a better way handling this, please let me know.
Also, are there any problems with tools used for refactoring, SVN etc.

The C# language uses unicode encoding, which means your special character will not be a problem. However, I like to keep my code in english without special characters. I am yet to find a problem which justifies using culture specific naming.
From the C# language specification:
A C# program consists of one or more
source files, known formally as
compilation units (§9.1). A source
file is an ordered sequence of Unicode
characters. Source files typically
have a one-to-one correspondence with
files in a file system, but this
correspondence is not required. For
maximal portability, it is recommended
that files in a file system be encoded
with the UTF-8 encoding.
Section 2.1 (Microsoft C# Language Specification)

I made this custom user type to convert safely from enum to int for NHibernate.You should change the function to use string instead of int. Then you could change the method "NullSafeGet" to make the conversion from the database value to your enum value. Making so, you could use normal characters for your enum values and user readable names in your database.
EDIT : I made the changes myself. You can use this class for your custom user type. You should implement the "SpecialConversion" method to convert from your special string to enum and vice-versa.
public class EnumToSpecialStringType<TEnum> : IUserType
{
#region IUserType Members
/// <summary>
/// Reconstruct an object from the cacheable representation. At the very least this
/// method should perform a deep copy if the type is mutable. (optional operation)
/// </summary>
/// <param name="cached">the object to be cached</param>
/// <param name="owner">the owner of the cached object</param>
/// <returns>a reconstructed object from the cachable representation</returns>
public object Assemble(object cached, object owner)
{
return DeepCopy(cached);
}
/// <summary>
/// Return a deep copy of the persistent state, stopping at entities and at collections.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="value">generally a collection element or entity field</param>
/// <returns>a copy</returns>
public object DeepCopy(object value)
{
return value;
}
/// <summary>
/// Transform the object into its cacheable representation. At the very least this
/// method should perform a deep copy if the type is mutable. That may not be enough
/// for some implementations, however; for example, associations must be cached as
/// identifier values. (optional operation)
/// </summary>
/// <param name="value">the object to be cached</param>
/// <returns>a cacheable representation of the object</returns>
public object Disassemble(object value)
{
return DeepCopy(value);
}
/// <summary>
/// Compare two instances of the class mapped by this type for persistent "equality"
/// ie. equality of persistent state
/// </summary>
/// <param name="x"/>
/// <param name="y"/>
/// <returns/>
public new bool Equals(object x, object y)
{
if (ReferenceEquals(x, y)) return true;
if (x == null || y == null) return false;
return x.Equals(y);
}
/// <summary>
/// Get a hashcode for the instance, consistent with persistence "equality"
/// </summary>
public int GetHashCode(object x)
{
return x.GetHashCode();
}
/// <summary>
/// Are objects of this type mutable?
/// </summary>
public bool IsMutable
{
get { return false; }
}
/// <summary>
/// Retrieve an instance of the mapped class from a ADO.NET resultset.
/// Implementors should handle possibility of null values.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="rs">a IDataReader</param>
/// <param name="names">column names</param>
/// <param name="owner">the containing entity</param>
/// <returns/>
/// <exception cref="HibernateException">HibernateException</exception>
public object NullSafeGet(IDataReader rs, string[] names, object owner)
{
var value = NHibernateUtil.String.NullSafeGet(rs, names[0]) as string;
// Put you special conversion here (string -> enum)
var converted = SpecialConversion(value);
return converted;
}
/// <summary>
/// Write an instance of the mapped class to a prepared statement.
/// Implementors should handle possibility of null values.
/// A multi-column type should be written to parameters starting from index.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="cmd">a IDbCommand</param>
/// <param name="value">the object to write</param>
/// <param name="index">command parameter index</param>
/// <exception cref="HibernateException">HibernateException</exception>
public void NullSafeSet(IDbCommand cmd, object value, int index)
{
var parameter = (IDataParameter)cmd.Parameters[index];
// Do conversion from your enum to database string value
var converted = SpecialConversion(value);
parameter.Value = converted;
}
/// <summary>
/// During merge, replace the existing (<paramref name="target"/>) value in the entity
/// we are merging to with a new (<paramref name="original"/>) value from the detached
/// entity we are merging. For immutable objects, or null values, it is safe to simply
/// return the first parameter. For mutable objects, it is safe to return a copy of the
/// first parameter. For objects with component values, it might make sense to
/// recursively replace component values.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="original">the value from the detached entity being merged</param>
/// <param name="target">the value in the managed entity</param>
/// <param name="owner">the managed entity</param>
/// <returns>the value to be merged</returns>
public object Replace(object original, object target, object owner)
{
return original;
}
/// <summary>
/// The type returned by <c>NullSafeGet()</c>
/// </summary>
public Type ReturnedType
{
get
{
return typeof(TEnum);
}
}
/// <summary>
/// The SQL types for the columns mapped by this type.
/// </summary>
public SqlType[] SqlTypes
{
get
{
return new[] { new SqlType(DbType.String) };
}
}
#endregion
}
I use fluent NHibernate and my way to map my column with this custom usertype was:
Map(x => x.PropertyName, "ColumnName").CustomType<EnumToSpecialStringType<EnumType>>();
EDIT: Here's a post about how to map a user type using a xml mapping file:
nHibernate mapping to custom types

I'm just writing examples here to show how you can do the mapping.
Consider your enum where all values contains non-ASCII characters:
public enum MyEnum
{
NonAsciiName1,
NonAsciiName2,
NonAsciiName3,
}
You could change it to do this where all values have ASCII characters:
public enum MyEnum
{
AsciiName1,
AsciiName2,
AsciiName3,
}
public static class MyEnumExtensions
{
static readonly Dictionary<MyEnum, string> map = new Dictionary<MyEnum, string>
{
{ MyEnum.AsciiName1, "NonAsciiName1" },
{ MyEnum.AsciiName2, "NonAsciiName2" },
{ MyEnum.AsciiName3, "NonAsciiName3" },
};
public static string GetValue(this MyEnum key)
{
return map[key];
}
}
Then your code would need small changes to use this:
// you probably had something like:
var myEnumValue = MyEnum.NonAsciiName1;
var value = myEnumValue.ToString();
// now becomes:
var myEnumValue = MyEnum.AsciiName1;
var value = myEnumValue.GetValue();
Or has DEHAAS suggested, use attributes which works in a similar way. But then you'd have to use reflection to get the values which has a bit of a performance penalty.
using System.ComponentModel;
public enum MyEnum
{
[DescriptionAttribute("NonAsciiName1")] AsciiName1,
[DescriptionAttribute("NonAsciiName2")] AsciiName2,
[DescriptionAttribute("NonAsciiName3")] AsciiName3,
}
public static class MyEnumExtensions
{
public static string GetValue(this MyEnum key)
{
return typeof(MyEnum).GetField(key.ToString())
.GetCustomAttributes(typeof(DescriptionAttribute), false)
.Cast<DescriptionAttribute>()
.Single()
.Description;
}
}

Yes, I consider that a pitfall.
Showing lookups to the user and keeping a list of the possible (unique) items in the database can better be kept separately. Especially if your application is to support other languages in the future.
Not very object oriented you could have a class in your code that is a direct mapping between your enum and the value of the respective language, like in a nhibernate mapping like this:
<class name="DropDown" table="DropDown_Language">
<!-- map onto the ENUMeration -->
<id name="UniqueID" column="Id" type="Int32" >
<generator class="identity" />
</id>
<property name="DropDownType" column="DropDownTypeId" type="DropDownType, Domain"/>
<property name="Language" column="LanguageId" type="LanguageReferenceType, "/>
<property name="DropDownTypeDescription" column="DropDownTypeDescription" type="string"/>
</class>
In the DropDownTypeDescription column you would then put the values of the dropdown.
Hope I understood your question :-)

CSLA Framework CanReadProperty

In the CSLA.NET Framework, what is the purpose of the CanReadProperty method?

It's a method that allows to check whether it is allowed to read a certain property:
/// <summary>
/// Returns <see langword="true" /> if the user is allowed to read the
/// calling property.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="property">Property to check.</param>
[EditorBrowsable(EditorBrowsableState.Advanced)]
public virtual bool CanReadProperty(Csla.Core.IPropertyInfo property)
{
bool result = true;
VerifyAuthorizationCache();
if (!_readResultCache.TryGetValue(property.Name, out result))
{
result = BusinessRules.HasPermission(AuthorizationActions.ReadProperty, property);
// store value in cache
_readResultCache[property.Name] = result;
}
return result;
}

Basically it allows you to have different access permissions for individual properties on a business object.

It gives specific access permission to the Data contract Properties.

WCF service proxy not setting "FieldSpecified" property

I've got a WCF DataContract that looks like the following:
namespace MyCompanyName.Services.Wcf
{
[DataContract(Namespace = "http://mycompanyname/services/wcf")]
[Serializable]
public class DataContractBase
{
[DataMember]
public DateTime EditDate { get; set; }
// code omitted for brevity...
}
}
When I add a reference to this service in Visual Studio, this proxy code is generated:
/// <remarks/>
[System.CodeDom.Compiler.GeneratedCodeAttribute("System.Xml", "2.0.50727.3082")]
[System.SerializableAttribute()]
[System.Diagnostics.DebuggerStepThroughAttribute()]
[System.ComponentModel.DesignerCategoryAttribute("code")]
[System.Xml.Serialization.XmlTypeAttribute(Namespace="http://mycompanyname/services/wcf")]
public partial class DataContractBase : object, System.ComponentModel.INotifyPropertyChanged {
private System.DateTime editDateField;
private bool editDateFieldSpecified;
/// <remarks/>
[System.Xml.Serialization.XmlElementAttribute(Order=0)]
public System.DateTime EditDate {
get {
return this.editDateField;
}
set {
this.editDateField = value;
this.RaisePropertyChanged("EditDate");
}
}
/// <remarks/>
[System.Xml.Serialization.XmlIgnoreAttribute()]
public bool EditDateSpecified {
get {
return this.editDateFieldSpecified;
}
set {
this.editDateFieldSpecified = value;
this.RaisePropertyChanged("EditDateSpecified");
}
}
// code omitted for brevity...
}
As you can see, besides generating a backing property for EditDate, an additional <propertyname>Specified property is generated. All good, except that when I do the following:
DataContractBase myDataContract = new DataContractBase();
myDataContract.EditDate = DateTime.Now;
new MyServiceClient.Update(new UpdateRequest(myDataContract));
the EditDate was not getting picked up by the endpoint of the service (does not appear in the transmitted XML).
I debugged the code and found that, although I was setting EditDate, the EditDateSpecified property wasn't being set to true as I would expect; hence, the XML serializer was ignoring the value of EditDate, even though it's set to a valid value.
As a quick hack I modified the EditDate property to look like the following:
/// <remarks/>
[System.Xml.Serialization.XmlElementAttribute(Order=0)]
public System.DateTime EditDate {
get {
return this.editDateField;
}
set {
this.editDateField = value;
// hackhackhack
if (value != default(System.DateTime))
{
this.EditDateSpecified = true;
}
// end hackhackhack
this.RaisePropertyChanged("EditDate");
}
}
Now the code works as expected, but of course every time I re-generate the proxy, my modifications are lost. I could change the calling code to the following:
DataContractBase myDataContract = new DataContractBase();
myDataContract.EditDate = DateTime.Now;
myDataContract.EditDateSpecified = true;
new MyServiceClient.Update(new UpdateRequest(myDataContract));
but that also seems like a hack-ish waste of time.
So finally, my question: does anyone have a suggestion on how to get past this unintuitive (and IMO broken) behavior of the Visual Studio service proxy generator, or am I simply missing something?

It might be a bit unintuitive (and caught me off guard and reeling, too!) - but it's the only proper way to handle elements that might or might not be specified in your XML schema.
And it also might seem counter-intuitive that you have to set the xyzSpecified flag yourself - but ultimately, this gives you more control, and WCF is all about the Four Tenets of SOA of being very explicit and clear about your intentions.
So basically - that's the way it is, get used to it :-) There's no way "past" this behavior - it's the way the WCF system was designed, and for good reason, too.
What you always can do is catch and handle the this.RaisePropertyChanged("EditDate"); event and set the EditDateSpecified flag in an event handler for that event.

try this
[DataMember(IsRequired=true)]
public DateTime EditDate { get; set; }
This should omit the EditDateSpecified property since the field is specified as required

Rather than change the setters of the autogenerated code, you can use an extension class to 'autospecify' (bind the change handler event). This could have two implementations -- a "lazy" one (Autospecify) using reflection to look for fieldSpecified based on the property name, rather than listing them all out for each class in some sort of switch statement like Autonotify:
Lazy
public static class PropertySpecifiedExtensions
{
private const string SPECIFIED_SUFFIX = "Specified";
/// <summary>
/// Bind the <see cref="INotifyPropertyChanged.PropertyChanged"/> handler to automatically set any xxxSpecified fields when a property is changed. "Lazy" via reflection.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="entity">the entity to bind the autospecify event to</param>
/// <param name="specifiedSuffix">optionally specify a suffix for the Specified property to set as true on changes</param>
/// <param name="specifiedPrefix">optionally specify a prefix for the Specified property to set as true on changes</param>
public static void Autospecify(this INotifyPropertyChanged entity, string specifiedSuffix = SPECIFIED_SUFFIX, string specifiedPrefix = null)
{
entity.PropertyChanged += (me, e) =>
{
foreach (var pi in me.GetType().GetProperties().Where(o => o.Name == specifiedPrefix + e.PropertyName + specifiedSuffix))
{
pi.SetValue(me, true, BindingFlags.SetField | BindingFlags.SetProperty, null, null, null);
}
};
}
/// <summary>
/// Create a new entity and <see cref="Autospecify"/> its properties when changed
/// </summary>
/// <typeparam name="T"></typeparam>
/// <param name="specifiedSuffix"></param>
/// <param name="specifiedPrefix"></param>
/// <returns></returns>
public static T Create<T>(string specifiedSuffix = SPECIFIED_SUFFIX, string specifiedPrefix = null) where T : INotifyPropertyChanged, new()
{
var ret = new T();
ret.Autospecify(specifiedSuffix, specifiedPrefix);
return ret;
}
}
This simplifies writing convenience factory methods like:
public partial class MyRandomClass
{
/// <summary>
/// Create a new empty instance and <see cref="PropertySpecifiedExtensions.Autospecify"/> its properties when changed
/// </summary>
/// <returns></returns>
public static MyRandomClass Create()
{
return PropertySpecifiedExtensions.Create<MyRandomClass>();
}
}
A downside (other than reflection, meh) is that you have to use the factory method to instantiate your classes or use .Autospecify before (?) you make any changes to properties with specifiers.
No Reflection
If you don't like reflection, you could define another extension class + interface:
public static class PropertySpecifiedExtensions2
{
/// <summary>
/// Bind the <see cref="INotifyPropertyChanged.PropertyChanged"/> handler to automatically call each class's <see cref="IAutoNotifyPropertyChanged.Autonotify"/> method on the property name.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="entity">the entity to bind the autospecify event to</param>
public static void Autonotify(this IAutoNotifyPropertyChanged entity)
{
entity.PropertyChanged += (me, e) => ((IAutoNotifyPropertyChanged)me).WhenPropertyChanges(e.PropertyName);
}
/// <summary>
/// Create a new entity and <see cref="Autonotify"/> it's properties when changed
/// </summary>
/// <typeparam name="T"></typeparam>
/// <returns></returns>
public static T Create<T>() where T : IAutoNotifyPropertyChanged, new()
{
var ret = new T();
ret.Autonotify();
return ret;
}
}
/// <summary>
/// Used by <see cref="PropertySpecifiedExtensions.Autonotify"/> to standardize implementation behavior
/// </summary>
public interface IAutoNotifyPropertyChanged : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
void WhenPropertyChanges(string propertyName);
}
And then each class themselves defines the behavior:
public partial class MyRandomClass: IAutoNotifyPropertyChanged
{
public void WhenPropertyChanges(string propertyName)
{
switch (propertyName)
{
case "field1": this.field1Specified = true; return;
// etc
}
}
}
The downside to this is, of course, magic strings for property names making refactoring difficult, which you could get around with Expression parsing?

Further information
On the MSDN here
In her answer, Shreesha explains that:
"Specified" fields are only generated on optional parameters that are structs. (int, datetime, decimal etc). All such variables will have additional variable generated with the name Specified.
This is a way of knowing if a parameter is really passed between the client and the server.
To elaborate, an optional integer, if not passed, would still have the dafault value of 0. How do you differentiate between this and the one that was actually passed with a value 0 ? The "specified" field lets you know if the optional integer is passed or not. If the "specified" field is false, the value is not passed across. If it true, the integer is passed.
so essentially, the only way to have these fields set is to set them manually, and if they aren't set to true for a field that has been set, then that field will be missed out in the SOAP message of the web-service call.
What I did in the end was build a method to loop through all the members of the object, and if the property has been set, and if there is a property called name _Specified then set that to true.

Ian,
Please ignore my previous answers, was explaining how to suck eggs. I've voted to delete them.
Could you tell me which version of Visual Studio you're using, please?
In VS2005 client - in the generated code, I get the <property>Specified flags, but no event raised on change of values. To pass data I have to set the <property>Specified flag.
In Visual Web Developer 2008 Express client - in the generated code, I get no <property>Specified flags, but I do get the event on change of value.
Seems to me that this functionality has evolved and the Web Dev 2008 is closer to what you're after and is more intuitive, in that you don't need to set flags once you've set a value.
Bowthy

Here's a simple project that can modify the setters in generated WCF code for optional properties to automatically set the *Specified flags to true when setting the related value.
https://github.com/b9chris/WcfClean
Obviously there are situations where you want manual control over the *Specified flag so I'm not recommending it to everyone, but in most simple use cases the *Specified flags are just an extra nuisance and automatically setting them saves time, and is often more intuitive.
Note that Mustafa Magdy's comment on another answer here will solve this for you IF you control the Web Service publication point. However, I usually don't control the Web Service publication and am just consuming one, and have to cope with the *Specified flags in some simple software where I'd like this automated. Thus this tool.

Change proxy class properties to nullable type
ex :
bool? confirmed
DateTime? checkDate

Caching best practices - Single object or multiple entries?

Does anyone have any advice on which method is better when caching data in a C# ASP.net application?
I am currently using a combination of two approaches, with some data (List, dictionaries, the usual domain-specific information) being put directly into the cache and boxed when needed, and some data being kept inside a globaldata class, and retrieved through that class (i.e. the GlobalData class is cached, and it's properties are the actual data).
Is either approach preferable?
I get the feeling that caching each item separately would be more sensible from a concurrency point of view, however it creates a lot more work in the long run with more functions that purely deal with getting data out of a cache location in a Utility class.
Suggestions would be appreciated.

Generally the cache's performance is so much better than the underlying source (e.g. a DB) that the performance of the cache is not a problem. The main goal is rather to get as high cache-hit ratio as possible (unless you are developing at really large scale because then it pays off to optimize the cache as well).
To achieve this I usually try to make it as straight forward as possible for the developer to use cache (so that we don't miss any chances of cache-hits just because the developer is too lazy to use the cache). In some projects we've use a modified version of a CacheHandler available in Microsoft's Enterprise Library.
With CacheHandler (which uses Policy Injection) you can easily make a method "cacheable" by just adding an attribute to it. For instance this:
[CacheHandler(0, 30, 0)]
public Object GetData(Object input)
{
}
would make all calls to that method cached for 30 minutes. All invocations gets a unique cache-key based on the input data and method name so if you call the method twice with different input it doesn't get cached but if you call it >1 times within the timout interval with the same input then the method only gets executed once.
Our modified version looks like this:
using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.IO;
using System.Reflection;
using System.Runtime.Remoting.Contexts;
using System.Text;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.Caching;
using System.Web.UI;
using Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Common.Configuration;
using Microsoft.Practices.Unity.InterceptionExtension;
namespace Middleware.Cache
{
/// <summary>
/// An <see cref="ICallHandler"/> that implements caching of the return values of
/// methods. This handler stores the return value in the ASP.NET cache or the Items object of the current request.
/// </summary>
[ConfigurationElementType(typeof (CacheHandler)), Synchronization]
public class CacheHandler : ICallHandler
{
/// <summary>
/// The default expiration time for the cached entries: 5 minutes
/// </summary>
public static readonly TimeSpan DefaultExpirationTime = new TimeSpan(0, 5, 0);
private readonly object cachedData;
private readonly DefaultCacheKeyGenerator keyGenerator;
private readonly bool storeOnlyForThisRequest = true;
private TimeSpan expirationTime;
private GetNextHandlerDelegate getNext;
private IMethodInvocation input;
public CacheHandler(TimeSpan expirationTime, bool storeOnlyForThisRequest)
{
keyGenerator = new DefaultCacheKeyGenerator();
this.expirationTime = expirationTime;
this.storeOnlyForThisRequest = storeOnlyForThisRequest;
}
/// <summary>
/// This constructor is used when we wrap cached data in a CacheHandler so that
/// we can reload the object after it has been removed from the cache.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="expirationTime"></param>
/// <param name="storeOnlyForThisRequest"></param>
/// <param name="input"></param>
/// <param name="getNext"></param>
/// <param name="cachedData"></param>
public CacheHandler(TimeSpan expirationTime, bool storeOnlyForThisRequest,
IMethodInvocation input, GetNextHandlerDelegate getNext,
object cachedData)
: this(expirationTime, storeOnlyForThisRequest)
{
this.input = input;
this.getNext = getNext;
this.cachedData = cachedData;
}
/// <summary>
/// Gets or sets the expiration time for cache data.
/// </summary>
/// <value>The expiration time.</value>
public TimeSpan ExpirationTime
{
get { return expirationTime; }
set { expirationTime = value; }
}
#region ICallHandler Members
/// <summary>
/// Implements the caching behavior of this handler.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="input"><see cref="IMethodInvocation"/> object describing the current call.</param>
/// <param name="getNext">delegate used to get the next handler in the current pipeline.</param>
/// <returns>Return value from target method, or cached result if previous inputs have been seen.</returns>
public IMethodReturn Invoke(IMethodInvocation input, GetNextHandlerDelegate getNext)
{
lock (input.MethodBase)
{
this.input = input;
this.getNext = getNext;
return loadUsingCache();
}
}
public int Order
{
get { return 0; }
set { }
}
#endregion
private IMethodReturn loadUsingCache()
{
//We need to synchronize calls to the CacheHandler on method level
//to prevent duplicate calls to methods that could be cached.
lock (input.MethodBase)
{
if (TargetMethodReturnsVoid(input) || HttpContext.Current == null)
{
return getNext()(input, getNext);
}
var inputs = new object[input.Inputs.Count];
for (int i = 0; i < inputs.Length; ++i)
{
inputs[i] = input.Inputs[i];
}
string cacheKey = keyGenerator.CreateCacheKey(input.MethodBase, inputs);
object cachedResult = getCachedResult(cacheKey);
if (cachedResult == null)
{
var stopWatch = Stopwatch.StartNew();
var realReturn = getNext()(input, getNext);
stopWatch.Stop();
if (realReturn.Exception == null && realReturn.ReturnValue != null)
{
AddToCache(cacheKey, realReturn.ReturnValue);
}
return realReturn;
}
var cachedReturn = input.CreateMethodReturn(cachedResult, input.Arguments);
return cachedReturn;
}
}
private object getCachedResult(string cacheKey)
{
//When the method uses input that is not serializable
//we cannot create a cache key and can therefore not
//cache the data.
if (cacheKey == null)
{
return null;
}
object cachedValue = !storeOnlyForThisRequest ? HttpRuntime.Cache.Get(cacheKey) : HttpContext.Current.Items[cacheKey];
var cachedValueCast = cachedValue as CacheHandler;
if (cachedValueCast != null)
{
//This is an object that is reloaded when it is being removed.
//It is therefore wrapped in a CacheHandler-object and we must
//unwrap it before returning it.
return cachedValueCast.cachedData;
}
return cachedValue;
}
private static bool TargetMethodReturnsVoid(IMethodInvocation input)
{
var targetMethod = input.MethodBase as MethodInfo;
return targetMethod != null && targetMethod.ReturnType == typeof (void);
}
private void AddToCache(string key, object valueToCache)
{
if (key == null)
{
//When the method uses input that is not serializable
//we cannot create a cache key and can therefore not
//cache the data.
return;
}
if (!storeOnlyForThisRequest)
{
HttpRuntime.Cache.Insert(
key,
valueToCache,
null,
System.Web.Caching.Cache.NoAbsoluteExpiration,
expirationTime,
CacheItemPriority.Normal, null);
}
else
{
HttpContext.Current.Items[key] = valueToCache;
}
}
}
/// <summary>
/// This interface describes classes that can be used to generate cache key strings
/// for the <see cref="CacheHandler"/>.
/// </summary>
public interface ICacheKeyGenerator
{
/// <summary>
/// Creates a cache key for the given method and set of input arguments.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="method">Method being called.</param>
/// <param name="inputs">Input arguments.</param>
/// <returns>A (hopefully) unique string to be used as a cache key.</returns>
string CreateCacheKey(MethodBase method, object[] inputs);
}
/// <summary>
/// The default <see cref="ICacheKeyGenerator"/> used by the <see cref="CacheHandler"/>.
/// </summary>
public class DefaultCacheKeyGenerator : ICacheKeyGenerator
{
private readonly LosFormatter serializer = new LosFormatter(false, "");
#region ICacheKeyGenerator Members
/// <summary>
/// Create a cache key for the given method and set of input arguments.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="method">Method being called.</param>
/// <param name="inputs">Input arguments.</param>
/// <returns>A (hopefully) unique string to be used as a cache key.</returns>
public string CreateCacheKey(MethodBase method, params object[] inputs)
{
try
{
var sb = new StringBuilder();
if (method.DeclaringType != null)
{
sb.Append(method.DeclaringType.FullName);
}
sb.Append(':');
sb.Append(method.Name);
TextWriter writer = new StringWriter(sb);
if (inputs != null)
{
foreach (var input in inputs)
{
sb.Append(':');
if (input != null)
{
//Diffrerent instances of DateTime which represents the same value
//sometimes serialize differently due to some internal variables which are different.
//We therefore serialize it using Ticks instead. instead.
var inputDateTime = input as DateTime?;
if (inputDateTime.HasValue)
{
sb.Append(inputDateTime.Value.Ticks);
}
else
{
//Serialize the input and write it to the key StringBuilder.
serializer.Serialize(writer, input);
}
}
}
}
return sb.ToString();
}
catch
{
//Something went wrong when generating the key (probably an input-value was not serializble.
//Return a null key.
return null;
}
}
#endregion
}
}
Microsoft deserves most credit for this code. We've only added stuff like caching at request level instead of across requests (more useful than you might think) and fixed some bugs (e.g. equal DateTime-objects serializing to different values).

Under what conditions do you need to invalidate your cache? Objects should be stored so that when they are invalidated repopulating the cache only requires re-caching the items that were invalidated.
For example if you have cached say a Customer object that contains the delivery details for an order along with the shopping basket. Invalidating the shopping basket because they added or removed an item would also require repopulating the delivery details unnecessarily.
(NOTE: This is an obteuse example and I'm not advocating this just trying to demonstrate the principle and my imagination is a bit off today).

Ed, I assume those lists and dictionaries contain almost static data with low chances of expiration. Then there's data that gets frequent hits but also changes more frequently, so you're caching it using the HttpRuntime cache.
Now, you should think of all that data and all of the dependencies between diferent types. If you logically find that the HttpRuntime cached data depends somehow on your GlobalData items, you should move that into the cache and set up the appropriate dependencies in there so you'll benefit of the "cascading expiration".
Even if you do use your custom caching mechanism, you'd still have to provide all the synchronization, so you won't save on that by avoiding the other.
If you need (preordered) lists of items with a really low frequency change, you can still do that by using the HttpRuntime cache. So you could just cache a dictionary and either use it to list your items or to index and access by your custom key.

How about the best (worst?) of both worlds?
Have the globaldata class manage all the cache access internally. The rest of your code can then just use globaldata, meaning that it doesn't need to be cache-aware at all.
You could change the cache implementation as/when you like just by updating globaldata, and the rest of your code won't know or care what's going on inside.

There's much more than that to consider when architecting your caching strategy. Think of your cache store as if it were your in-memory db. So carefully handle dependencies and expiration policy for each and every type stored in there. It really doesn't matter what you use for caching (system.web, other commercial solution, rolling your own...).
I'd try to centralize it though and also use some sort of a plugable architecture. Make your data consumers access it through a common API (an abstract cache that exposes it) and plug your caching layer at runtime (let's say asp.net cache).
You should really take a top down approach when caching data to avoid any kind of data integrity problems (proper dependecies like I said) and then take care of providing synchronization.