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Interface To Generic Casting issue

I'm implementing a custom data store against an in memory state tree and I'm running into some issues with my indexing. My indexes are meant to be covering, so they should return the object not just a position. An index has a name, and a List of objects. Those objects can be different underlying types so the indexed objects are IHasUUID which indicates an item has a UUID.
public class DataIndex
{
public string Name;
public IDictionary<string, List<IHasUUID>> Index;
}
public class Indexer
{
private List<DataIndex> Indexes;
...
public List<IHasUUID> GetIndexedItems(List<IHasUUID> indexBy)
{
var indexer = GetIndexByKeys<IHasUUID>(indexBy);
var indexHash = GetHashKey(indexBy);
return GetIndexValues<IHasUUID>(indexer, indexHash);
}
private List<T> GetIndexValues<T>(DataIndex indexBy, string indexHash) where T : IHasUUID
{
if (indexBy == null)
return new List<T>();
return ((IList<T>)indexBy.Index[indexHash]).ToList();
}
}
I generate the key to the dictionary using a reflection method where I look at the things being used as the index key and append the type string names
So I ask my Engine to FindRecords, no problem
public List<T> FindRecords<T>(IHasUUID indexBy) where T : IHasUUID
{
var indexedIds = Indexer.GetIndexedItems(new List<IHasUUID>() { indexBy });
return ((IList<T>)indexedIds).ToList();
}
Here I run into a wall on the FindRecords return
I have
return ((IList<T>)indexedIds).ToList();
and I tried
return indexedIds.ToList();
Neither one is able to cast up to T. Is this possible?
Thanks in advance
EDIT
I do seem to be much closer,
public class DataIndex
{
public DataIndex()
{
Index = new Dictionary<string, IEnumerable<IHasUUID>>();
}
public string Name;
public Dictionary<string, IEnumerable<IHasUUID>> Index;
}
public class Indexer
{
private List<DataIndex> Indexes;
public Indexer()
{
Indexes = new List<DataIndex>();
}
public IEnumerable<T> GetIndexedItems<T>(IEnumerable<IHasUUID> indexBy) where T : IHasUUID
{
var indexer = GetIndexByKeys<T>(indexBy);
var indexHash = GetHashKey(indexBy);
return GetIndexValues<T>(indexer, indexHash);
}
private IEnumerable<T> GetIndexValues<T>(DataIndex dataIndex, string indexHash) where T : IHasUUID
{
if (dataIndex == null)
return new List<T>();
return dataIndex.Index[indexHash].ToList() as List<T>;
}
}
However I am getting null back from GetIndexValues. I also tried returning it as an IEnumerable, also null
Here's my Add to index method
public void AddManyToIndex<T>(IEnumerable<IHasUUID> keys, IEnumerable<IHasUUID> newItems) where T : IHasUUID
{
var index = GetIndexByKeys<T>(keys) ?? CreateIndex<T>(keys);
string indexKey = GetHashKey(keys);
if (!index.Index.ContainsKey(indexKey))
{
index.Index[indexKey] = new List<IHasUUID>();
}
var list = index.Index[indexKey].ToList();
list.AddRange(newItems.ToList());
index.Index[indexKey] = list as IEnumerable<IHasUUID>;
}

System.Collections.Generic.List<T> is not covariant. That is to say that, given two types T and U where a U is a T, a List<U> is not a List<T>.
This is why the cast fails, a list of a type implementing IHasUUID, T in your example, is not a List<IHasUUID>.
There are however, covariant1 generic types, such as System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerable<T> and System.Collections.Generic.IReadOnlyList<T>. For such types, given two types T and U where a U is a T, an IEnumerable<U> is an IEnumerable<T>.
In addition to solving your specific problem, using such types will also serve to make your APIs more flexible while at the same time making your implementation simpler and easier.
Consider the following:
public interface IHasUuid
{
Guid Uuid { get; }
}
public class DataIndex
{
public string Name { get; set; }
public IDictionary<string, IEnumerable<IHasUuid>> Index { get; } = new Dictionary<string, IEnumerable<IHasUuid>>();
}
public class Indexer
{
public IEnumerable<IHasUuid> GetIndexedItems(IEnumerable<IHasUuid> indexBy)
{
var indexer = GetIndexByKeys<IHasUuid>(indexBy);
var indexHash = GetHashKey(indexBy);
return GetIndexValues<IHasUuid>(indexer, indexHash);
}
private IEnumerable<T> GetIndexValues<T>(DataIndex dataIndex, string hash) where T : IHasUuid
{
if (dataIndex == null)
return Enumerable.Empty<T>();
return dataIndex.Index[hash] as IEnumerable<T>;
}
}
You can store any type that implements IEnumerable<IHasUuid> in DataIndex.Index. All generic collections in .NET implement this interface, including List<T>, HashSet<T>, ConcurrentQueue<T> and countless more.
If you wish to retain the defensive copying in the orginal code, which may well be wise, simply add the .ToWhatever() back to the code.
private IEnumerable<T> GetIndexValues<T>(DataIndex dataIndex, string hash) where T : IHasUuid
{
if (dataIndex == null)
return Enumerable.Empty<T>();
return (dataIndex.Index[hash] as IEnumerable<T>).ToHashSet();
}
For example, you can build up a DataIndex instance like this
class Person: IHasUuid {
public Guid Uuid { get; }
public string Name { get; }
}
var index = new DataIndex {
Index = {
["People"] = new List<Person>()
}
};
var indexer = new Indexer();
var people = indexer.GetIndexValues(index, "People");
Here's a working fiddle: https://dotnetfiddle.net/qgjXR7
1: A type is covariant over its type parameter if that type parameter is declared using the out modifier. As its name suggests, the out modifier means that type parameter to which it is ascribed may only be used in output positions in the declaring type.
interface Wrapper<out T>
{
T Value { get; } // OK
T Value { get; set; } // Error
void SetValue(T value); // Error
}
Interface and delegate types can declare covariant type parameters, concrete types such as classes and structs may not.

Enforce an interface via parameter to an attribute [duplicate]

Is there a way to force the compiler to restrict the usage of a custom attribute to be used only on specific property types like int, short, string (all the primitive types)?
similar to the AttributeUsageAttribute's ValidOn-AttributeTargets enumeration.

No, you can't, basically. You can limit it to struct vs class vs interface, that is about it. Plus: you can't add attributes to types outside your code anyway (except for via TypeDescriptor, which isn't the same).

You can run this unit test to check it.
First, declare validation attribute PropertyType:
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Class)]
// [JetBrains.Annotations.BaseTypeRequired(typeof(Attribute))] uncomment if you use JetBrains.Annotations
public class PropertyTypeAttribute : Attribute
{
public Type[] Types { get; private set; }
public PropertyTypeAttribute(params Type[] types)
{
Types = types;
}
}
Create unit test:
[TestClass]
public class TestPropertyType
{
public static Type GetNullableUnderlying(Type nullableType)
{
return Nullable.GetUnderlyingType(nullableType) ?? nullableType;
}
[TestMethod]
public void Test_PropertyType()
{
var allTypes = AppDomain.CurrentDomain.GetAssemblies().SelectMany(a => a.GetTypes());
var allPropertyInfos = allTypes.SelectMany(a => a.GetProperties()).ToArray();
foreach (var propertyInfo in allPropertyInfos)
{
var propertyType = GetNullableUnderlying(propertyInfo.PropertyType);
foreach (var attribute in propertyInfo.GetCustomAttributes(true))
{
var attributes = attribute.GetType().GetCustomAttributes(true).OfType<PropertyTypeAttribute>();
foreach (var propertyTypeAttr in attributes)
if (!propertyTypeAttr.Types.Contains(propertyType))
throw new Exception(string.Format(
"Property '{0}.{1}' has invalid type: '{2}'. Allowed types for attribute '{3}': {4}",
propertyInfo.DeclaringType,
propertyInfo.Name,
propertyInfo.PropertyType,
attribute.GetType(),
string.Join(",", propertyTypeAttr.Types.Select(x => "'" + x.ToString() + "'"))));
}
}
}
}
Your attribute, for example allow only decimal property types:
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Property)]
[PropertyType(typeof(decimal))]
public class PriceAttribute : Attribute
{
}
Example model:
public class TestModel
{
[Price]
public decimal Price1 { get; set; } // ok
[Price]
public double Price2 { get; set; } // error
}

You could write code yourself to enforce correct use of your attribute class, but that's as much as you can do.

The code below will return an error if the attribute was placed on a property/field that is not List of string.
The line if (!(value is List<string> list)) may be a C#6 or 7 feature.
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Property |
AttributeTargets.Field, AllowMultiple = false)]
public sealed class RequiredStringListAttribute : ValidationAttribute
{
protected override ValidationResult IsValid(object value, ValidationContext context)
{
if (!(value is List<string> list))
return new ValidationResult($"The required attrribute must be of type List<string>");
bool valid = false;
foreach (var item in list)
{
if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(item))
valid = true;
}
return valid
? ValidationResult.Success
: new ValidationResult($"This field is required"); ;
}
}

The way I am doing this is following:
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Property)]
public class SomeValidationAttribute : ValidationAttribute
{
protected override ValidationResult IsValid(object value, ValidationContext validationContext)
{
if (value is not string stringToValidate)
{
throw new AttributeValueIsNotStringException(validationContext.DisplayName, validationContext.ObjectType.Name);
}
// validationContext.DisplayName is name of property, where validation attribut was used.
// validationContext.ObjectType.Name is name of class, in which the property is placed to instantly identify, where is the error.
//Some validation here.
return ValidationResult.Success;
}
}
And exception look like this:
public class AttributeValueIsNotStringException : Exception
{
public AttributeValueIsNotStringException(string propertyName, string className) : base(CreateMessage(propertyName, className))
{
}
private static string CreateMessage(string propertyName, string className)
{
return $"Validation attribute cannot be used for property: \"{propertyName}\" in class: \"{className}\" because it's type is not string. Use it only for string properties.";
}
}

Overridable methods cannot be static: How else can I do what I'm trying to do?

I have a series of static classes that I use to get strings for enum values. They all look something like this:
public static class MyEnumToString
{
private static Dictionary<MyEnum, string> map
= new Dictionary<MyEnum, string>();
public static string Get(MyEnum type)
{
PopulateEmptyMap();
return map[type];
}
static void PopulateEmptyMap()
{
if (!map.Any())
{
PopulateMap();
}
}
private static void PopulateMap()
{
map[MyEnum.enum1] = "string for enum 1";
map[MyEnum.enum2] = "string for enum 2";
}
}
I have multiple classes like this, that differ in the Enum type they use, and the string values. Clearly, I should combine the classes to reduce duplicated code.
What I tried doing was create generic base class so that it can handle any type, then implement the PopulateMap for the inherited classes. If it were possible, it would look something like this:
public static class TypeToString<TType>
{
public static Dictionary<TType, string> map
= new Dictionary<TType, string>();
public static string Get(TType type)
{
PopulateEmptyMap();
return map[type];
}
static void PopulateEmptyMap()
{
if (!map.Any())
{
PopulateMap();
}
}
public abstract static void PopulateMap();
}
public static class MyEnumToString: TypeToString<MyEnum>
{
public static void PopulateMap()
{
map[MyEnum.enum1] = "string for enum 1";
map[MyEnum.enum2] = "string for enum 2";
}
}
I had to make the Dictionary and the method PopulateMap public, because apparently generic classes cannot have protected or protected-internal members. Having to make that public isn't ideal, but not a deal-breaker.
What I am getting hung up on is the fact that "overridable methods cannot be static", so my PopulateMap method cannot be both abstract and static. And if it's not static, it can't be called from other static methods. And if it's not abstract, then the inheriting classes' PopulateMap doesn't get called.
This version doesn't even build.
Is there any way to do what I'm trying to do and still keep my class static? I'd really like to avoid having to have an instantiated TypeToString object every time I want to call TypeToString.Get().

Here's a handy extension method, as I'm guessing you're trying to map some description text to an enum value:
public static class EnumExtensions
{
public static string GetDescription(this Enum value)
{
var field = value.GetType().GetField(value.ToString());
if (field == null)
return value.ToString();
var attribute = field.GetCustomAttributes(typeof(DescriptionAttribute), false)
.OfType<DescriptionAttribute>()
.SingleOrDefault();
return attribute != null
? attribute.Description
: value.ToString();
}
}
Use it like this:
public enum Foo
{
[Description("Hello")]
Bar,
[Description("World")]
Baz
}
var value = Foo.Bar;
var description = value.GetDescription(); // Hello
Depending on your needs, you could cache the descriptions if reflection proves to be too slow for you, just modify the GetDescription method.
EDIT: to account for the additional info in the comment.
As it looks like you need something more extensible, you could use a custom attribute:
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Field, AllowMultiple = true, Inherited = false)]
public sealed class DescriptionEntryAttribute : Attribute
{
public string Key { get; private set; }
public string Value { get; private set; }
public DescriptionEntryAttribute(string key, string value)
{
Key = key;
Value = value;
}
}
Which would let you to do this:
public enum Foo
{
[DescriptionEntry("Name", "Hello")]
[DescriptionEntry("Title", "Some title")]
Bar,
[DescriptionEntry("Name", "World")]
[DescriptionEntry("Title", "Some title")]
Baz
}
Now, to read this thing, I'd advise you to store it in a cache like that:
public static class EnumExtensions
{
private static readonly ConcurrentDictionary<Type, DescriptionCache> Caches = new ConcurrentDictionary<Type, DescriptionCache>();
public static string GetDescription(this Enum value, string key)
{
var enumType = value.GetType();
var cache = Caches.GetOrAdd(enumType, type => new DescriptionCache(type));
return cache.GetDescription(value, key);
}
public static IEnumerable<TEnum> GetValuesFromDescription<TEnum>(string key, string description)
where TEnum : struct
{
var cache = Caches.GetOrAdd(typeof(TEnum), type => new DescriptionCache(type));
return cache.GetValues(key, description).Select(value => (TEnum)(object)value);
}
private class DescriptionCache
{
private readonly ILookup<Enum, Tuple<string, string>> _items;
private readonly ILookup<Tuple<string, string>, Enum> _reverse;
public DescriptionCache(Type enumType)
{
if (!enumType.IsEnum)
throw new ArgumentException("Not an enum");
_items = (from value in Enum.GetValues(enumType).Cast<Enum>()
let field = enumType.GetField(value.ToString())
where field != null
from attribute in field.GetCustomAttributes(typeof (DescriptionEntryAttribute), false).OfType<DescriptionEntryAttribute>()
select new {value, key = attribute.Key, description = attribute.Value})
.ToLookup(i => i.value, i => Tuple.Create(i.key, i.description));
_reverse = (from grp in _items
from description in grp
select new {value = grp.Key, description})
.ToLookup(i => i.description, i => i.value);
}
public string GetDescription(Enum value, string key)
{
var tuple = _items[value].FirstOrDefault(i => i.Item1 == key);
return tuple != null ? tuple.Item2 : null;
}
public IEnumerable<Enum> GetValues(string key, string description)
{
return _reverse[Tuple.Create(key, description)];
}
}
}
This way:
Foo.Bar.GetDescription("Name") returns "Hello"
EnumExtensions.GetValuesFromDescription<Foo>("Title", "Some title") returns a sequence containing Foo.Bar and Foo.Baz
That should be enough to get you started, now you should tweak it to your needs. For instance, you could use an enum instead of a string for the keys, it would help avoid typing mistakes, but I don't know if this would suit your needs.

Your problem is that static methods and variables are essentially not inherited. They are variables that don't act on instances of the class themselves, but provide some functionality to the class.
So you have a bunch of different enums, and you want to populate them based on different stuff. So let's look at what parts you have, and what is common:
PopulateMap: Not common
Enum type: Not common
Storage variable: Common
Populate Map if empty: Common
So all you really want is a way to populate the map once, when it's used. There is already a class for this, it's called Lazy. Using that, the code becomes:
public abstract class TypeToString<Type>
{
protected TypeToString()
{
storage = new Lazy<Dictionary<Type, string>>(GetMap);
}
private Lazy<Dictionary<Type, string>> storage;
protected abstract Dictionary<Type, string> GetMap();
public string Get(Type t) {return storage.Value[t];}
}
public class MyEnumToString : TypeToString<MyEnum>
{
protected override Dictionary<MyEnum, string> GetMap()
{
return null;
}
public static Get(MyEnum e) { return new MyEnumToString.Get(e); }
}
Alternatively, you can decorate your enums with a [DescriptionAttribute] and then create a method to get the description of a specific enum. This is what I did when I was faced with a similar problem. (Be sure to cache the results for the enum, as it used reflection which was slow.)

How to use SetValue of an Indexed Property in Reflection?

I have a C# Converter method which convers generic lists with the use of reflection.
The problem occurs when I try to call the SetValue method of the Item's property, it throws the following inner exception (ArgumentOutOfRangeException):
Index was out of range. Must be
non-negative and less than the size of the collection. Parameter name:
index.
Here is my code:
internal class Program
{
private static void Main()
{
List<ClassA> classA = new List<ClassA>();
classA.Add(new ClassA { Data = "value1" });
classA.Add(new ClassA { Data = "value2" });
List<ClassB> classB = Converter<List<ClassA>, List<ClassB>>(classA);
}
public static TOut Converter<TIn, TOut>(TIn request)
{
var response = Activator.CreateInstance<TOut>();
PropertyInfo propertyA = typeof(TIn).GetProperty("Item");
PropertyInfo propertyB = typeof(TOut).GetProperty("Item");
int count = (int)typeof(TIn).GetProperty("Count").GetValue(request);
for (int i = 0; i < count; i++)
{
var value = propertyA.GetValue(request, new object[] { i });
var b = CreateBFromA(propertyB, propertyA, value);
propertyB.SetValue(response, b, new object[] { i });
}
return response;
}
private static object CreateBFromA(PropertyInfo propertyB, PropertyInfo propertyA, object value)
{
var b = Activator.CreateInstance(propertyB.PropertyType);
object o = propertyA.PropertyType.GetProperty("Data").GetValue(value);
propertyB.PropertyType.GetProperty("Data").SetValue(b, o);
return b;
}
}
internal class ClassA
{
public string Data { get; set; }
}
internal class ClassB
{
public string Data { get; set; }
public object Other { get; set; }
}
This is a small example code of a bigger generic method (where I need to use reflection), so you can try and run it to regenerate the exception.
How to use the SetValue method to avoid this exception?

Here is my aproach to it:
public static TCollectionOut ConvertCollection<TCollectionIn, TCollectionOut, TIn, TOut>(TCollectionIn input)
where TCollectionIn : IEnumerable<TIn>
where TCollectionOut : ICollection<TOut>, new()
where TOut : new()
{
var res = new TCollectionOut();
foreach (dynamic item in input)
{
dynamic o = new TOut();
ConvertItem(item, o);
res.Add(o);
}
return res;
}
public static TCollectionOut ConvertCollectionMoreDynamic<TCollectionIn, TCollectionOut>(TCollectionIn input)
where TCollectionIn : IEnumerable
{
dynamic res = Activator.CreateInstance(typeof (TCollectionOut));
var oType = typeof (TCollectionOut).GetMethod("Add").GetParameters().Last().ParameterType;
foreach (dynamic item in input)
{
dynamic o = Activator.CreateInstance(oType);
ConvertItem(item, o);
res.Add(o);
}
return res;
}
public static void ConvertItem(ClassA input, ClassB output)
{
output.Data = input.Data;
}
If you wich to support more types just create ConvertItem method with correct overload.

This is because you are trying to pass an index to a not indexed property (Data).
If you post the ClassA code I can try yo help. Anyway you can use LINQ to perform this kind of conversions. It's faster (to write and to execute) and type safe.

Allow a custom Attribute only on specific type

Is there a way to force the compiler to restrict the usage of a custom attribute to be used only on specific property types like int, short, string (all the primitive types)?
similar to the AttributeUsageAttribute's ValidOn-AttributeTargets enumeration.

No, you can't, basically. You can limit it to struct vs class vs interface, that is about it. Plus: you can't add attributes to types outside your code anyway (except for via TypeDescriptor, which isn't the same).

You can run this unit test to check it.
First, declare validation attribute PropertyType:
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Class)]
// [JetBrains.Annotations.BaseTypeRequired(typeof(Attribute))] uncomment if you use JetBrains.Annotations
public class PropertyTypeAttribute : Attribute
{
public Type[] Types { get; private set; }
public PropertyTypeAttribute(params Type[] types)
{
Types = types;
}
}
Create unit test:
[TestClass]
public class TestPropertyType
{
public static Type GetNullableUnderlying(Type nullableType)
{
return Nullable.GetUnderlyingType(nullableType) ?? nullableType;
}
[TestMethod]
public void Test_PropertyType()
{
var allTypes = AppDomain.CurrentDomain.GetAssemblies().SelectMany(a => a.GetTypes());
var allPropertyInfos = allTypes.SelectMany(a => a.GetProperties()).ToArray();
foreach (var propertyInfo in allPropertyInfos)
{
var propertyType = GetNullableUnderlying(propertyInfo.PropertyType);
foreach (var attribute in propertyInfo.GetCustomAttributes(true))
{
var attributes = attribute.GetType().GetCustomAttributes(true).OfType<PropertyTypeAttribute>();
foreach (var propertyTypeAttr in attributes)
if (!propertyTypeAttr.Types.Contains(propertyType))
throw new Exception(string.Format(
"Property '{0}.{1}' has invalid type: '{2}'. Allowed types for attribute '{3}': {4}",
propertyInfo.DeclaringType,
propertyInfo.Name,
propertyInfo.PropertyType,
attribute.GetType(),
string.Join(",", propertyTypeAttr.Types.Select(x => "'" + x.ToString() + "'"))));
}
}
}
}
Your attribute, for example allow only decimal property types:
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Property)]
[PropertyType(typeof(decimal))]
public class PriceAttribute : Attribute
{
}
Example model:
public class TestModel
{
[Price]
public decimal Price1 { get; set; } // ok
[Price]
public double Price2 { get; set; } // error
}

You could write code yourself to enforce correct use of your attribute class, but that's as much as you can do.

The code below will return an error if the attribute was placed on a property/field that is not List of string.
The line if (!(value is List<string> list)) may be a C#6 or 7 feature.
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Property |
AttributeTargets.Field, AllowMultiple = false)]
public sealed class RequiredStringListAttribute : ValidationAttribute
{
protected override ValidationResult IsValid(object value, ValidationContext context)
{
if (!(value is List<string> list))
return new ValidationResult($"The required attrribute must be of type List<string>");
bool valid = false;
foreach (var item in list)
{
if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(item))
valid = true;
}
return valid
? ValidationResult.Success
: new ValidationResult($"This field is required"); ;
}
}

The way I am doing this is following:
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Property)]
public class SomeValidationAttribute : ValidationAttribute
{
protected override ValidationResult IsValid(object value, ValidationContext validationContext)
{
if (value is not string stringToValidate)
{
throw new AttributeValueIsNotStringException(validationContext.DisplayName, validationContext.ObjectType.Name);
}
// validationContext.DisplayName is name of property, where validation attribut was used.
// validationContext.ObjectType.Name is name of class, in which the property is placed to instantly identify, where is the error.
//Some validation here.
return ValidationResult.Success;
}
}
And exception look like this:
public class AttributeValueIsNotStringException : Exception
{
public AttributeValueIsNotStringException(string propertyName, string className) : base(CreateMessage(propertyName, className))
{
}
private static string CreateMessage(string propertyName, string className)
{
return $"Validation attribute cannot be used for property: \"{propertyName}\" in class: \"{className}\" because it's type is not string. Use it only for string properties.";
}
}