Fill base inherited class as one object rather than linking each attribute - c#

I have the following scenario
Scenario 1:
public class TT : t
{
public int x { get; set; }
public TT(t name, int name2)
{
this.att1 = name.att1;
this.att2 = name.att2;
this.att3 = name.att3;
x = name2;
}
}
Scenario 2:
public class TT : t
{
public int x { get; set; }
public TT(t name, int name2)
{
this = name;
x = name2;
}
}
Is there a way to pass the base inherited class "t" as an entire object, rather than having to assign each property from the base class's properties?

Is there a way to pass the base inherited class "t" as an entire object, rather than having to assign each property from the base class's properties?
No. You can't reassign this in the constructor of a class (or any other method). Also, remember that name will be a reference to an object, not the object itself, so even if you could reassign this, you'd be pointing to the same object, not copying its values.
You will need to copy the values from the source class field-by-field. Whether you do that in this constructor or in a base constructor (which would be helpful if you have multiple sub-classes that you want to add this functionality to), and whether you do it explicitly or using reflection is up to you.

You can create copy constructor in the base class and use it like this:
public class TT : t
{
public int x { get; set; }
public TT(t name, x name2):base(name)
{
x = name2;
}
}
If you don't want to handle the base copy constructor manually you can use Reflection and Expression Trees to automatize it

Related

Get value from inheritance out of a collection

I created classes that derive from a parent class looking like this.
class Usability
{
public string useName = "404";
}
and
class Heal : Usability
{
public string useName = "drink";
}
when putting multiple in a Dictionary
public Dictionary<int, Usability> useDict = new();
and then accessing useName via
foreach(var usability in item.usabilitys)
{
Console.Write(usability.useName);
}
allways prints "404". When using
foreach(Heal usability in item.usabilitys)
{
Console.Write(usability.useName);
}
instead prints "drink". There are functions and more data included in sub classes but this breaks down the problem as much as possible.
useName is the field, and fields can't be inherited.
You can use the properties instead of the fields:
public class Base
{
public virtual string Name { get; } = "404";
}
public class Inheritor : Base
{
public override string Name { get; } = "drink";
}
You must mark the base property as a virtual to override it in the class Inheritor.
Properties is just syntax sugar to getter and setter methods, so the property Name is really compiled to the method get_Name.
When you mark the property as the virtual you really make virtual method get_Name and you can override it.

Inheritance depending on calculated attribute

I am curently working on a small project (C#) where I have data to analyse.
To do so, I pass the data into the constructor of a class.
The class makes a first analysis on the data, and a certain value is determined using the data. Using this value I can say that this data is of Type B, C, D, ... and the analysis would continue in another class corresponding to the data type.
This would be it's class diagram representation :
So the "Data" Class should abstract but not really ? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I did some reasearch about the factory design pattern, but I think this is not really what I am trying to achieve. Is there maybe an other design pattern that does what I want to do?
Thank you for helping.
If I understand you correctly, you want the base class to determine which child class to create based on the data passed into the constructor. If so, you can't do it that way - a class cannot change itself to be a different/derived type when being constructed.
I assume that all the data types have some common properties and so you decided to put those common properties in a base class. I also assume you don't want each data type child class to have redundant code setting those common properties in the base class. You accomplish that by having the child class call a method in the base class, passing the data. You can do this in the constructors if you wish. For example:
class BaseData
{
BaseData(Dictionary<string,string> data)
{
this.CommonProp1 = data["CommonProp1"];
this.CommonProp2 = data["CommonProp2"];
}
public string CommonProp1 { get; set; }
public string CommonProp2 { get; set; }
}
class DataTypeA : BaseData
{
DataTypeA(Dictionary<string,string> data)
: base(data) // <-- magic here
{
this.TypeA_Prop1 = data["TypeA_Prop1"];
this.TypeA_Prop2 = data["TypeA_Prop2"];
}
public string TypeA_Prop1 { get; set; }
public string TypeA_Prop2 { get; set; }
}
I believe the factory pattern actually is what you want since you want to create an instance of a class in which the type is determined at run time. This is where you encapsulate the code that determines which type of child class to create. Something like:
class DataFactory
{
public static BaseData BuildDataClass(byte[] serializedData)
{
Dictionary<string,string> data = ParseData(serializedData);
switch (data["DataType"])
{
case "TypeA":
return new DataTypeA(data);
default:
return null;
}
}
private static Dictionary<string,string> ParseData(byte[] serializedData)
{
var data = new Dictionary<string, string>();
// bla bla
return data;
}
}

can abstract base class access its own abstract property in C#. If yes, then will the value be same as that of underlying child object?

can abstract base class access its own abstract property in C#. If yes, then will the value be same as that of underlying child object ??
abstract class A : IEquitable<A>
{
abstract string Key {get; set;}
Equal(A other)
{
// in this part , I ma accessing the abstract property
if(this.Key == other.Key) return true;
else return false;
}
}
// Class B is inheriting class A
class B : A
{
// value is given to that abstract property in child class
public override string Key { get; set; } = "Some Value";
}
Yes the concrete child class, must implement this property (since its only an abstract definition of the property on the abstract class). And both properties point always to the same data.
Consider this:
public class Base
{
public virtual string Key {get; set;}
}
class ChildA : Base
{
//This one overrides the default adding extra/different logic
public override string Key { get; set; } = "Some Value";
}
class ChildB : Base
{
//This one adds a new property, making the other one no long accessable directly.
public new string Key { get; set; } = "Some Value";
}
var a = new ChildA();
a.Key //Some Value
((Base)a).Key // Some Value
new ChildB();
b.Key //Some Value
((Base)b).Key // null
Best practice
Beste practice on overriding variables or functions is to add logic, not to change or remove it.
eg: add an observer to check if property is changed.
Abstract syntax of property is like syntax of auto property. But you can implement that as property with backing field or auto property or as computed property without backing field.
Abstract members dont have implementation. When a child class implement abstract members that value is for child class itself.
Another child of that class can be implemented in this way. And does not conflict with other childs.
public override string Key
{
get { return ""; }
set { /*do nothing*/}
}

Get custom attribute from SubClass in BaseClass (C# .NET 4.0)

Ok, edited the code for clarification:
Question: How can I access the attribute [MyAttr("...")] in TestClassOne/Two from BaseClass.TheAttribute...?
All classes except TestClassOne/Two will be compiled in to my "core" and delivered as a dev-platform to a customer.
The TestClassOne/Two is developed by the customer, so there can be no knowledge of the TestClassOne/Two in the "core".
Code below is compiled into "core" and delivered to customer as dll.
[TestMethod()]
public void AttrTest()
{
var one = new TestClassOne();
var attrOne = one.MyTestProperty.TheAttribute;
var two = new TestClassTwo();
var attrTwo = two.MyTestProperty.TheAttribute;
}
public class MyAttr : Attribute
{
private string _test;
public MyAttr(string test)
{
this._test = test;
}
}
public class BaseClass
{
public string TheAttribute
{
get {
// Here I would like to get the "[MyAttr("...")]" from the classes in the bottom
return null;
}
}
}
public class SubClass : BaseClass
{
}
Code below is developed by customer (using my dll's)
public class TestClassOne
{
[MyAttr("Attribute one")]
public SubClass MyTestProperty = new SubClass();
}
public class TestClassTwo
{
[MyAttr("Attribute two")]
public SubClass MyTestProperty = new SubClass();
}
You can get directly from type Test:
var result = typeof (Test)
.GetField("MyTest", BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Instance)
.GetCustomAttribute<MyAttr>();
Edit 3:
You can walk the call stack, looking for a relevant attribute in a relevant member in a relevant class. Try this:
public class MyAttr : Attribute
{
private string _test;
public MyAttr(string test)
{
this._test = test;
}
public string getAttr()
{
return _test;
}
}
public class BaseClass
{
private string theString;
public BaseClass()
{
StackTrace callStack = new StackTrace();
for ( int i = 0; i < callStack.FrameCount; i++ )
{
Type t = callStack.GetFrame(i).GetMethod().DeclaringType;
foreach ( MemberInfo m in t.GetMembers().Where(x => typeof(BaseClass).IsAssignableFrom(x.Type)) )
{
foreach ( var z in m.GetCustomAttributes(typeof(MyAttr)) )
{
MyAttr theAttr = z as MyAttr;
if ( z!= null )
{
theString = z.getAttr();
return;
}
}
}
}
}
public string Test
{
get {
return theString;
}
}
}
This requires that your customer always initializes the SubClass member inside the class that declares it. If they start deriving TestClassOne or have it and TestClassTwo derive from a common class that initializes the member, this code will break.
With clever use of reflection, you can expand the above code to cover more use cases, but that's beyond the scope of this question.
Edit 2:
No. I'm sorry, but what you're trying to do isn't possible. There's no "normal" way for an instance of SubClass to know if it's being declared in a member field of some other object, or in an element in an array or in a temporary variable in the stack, or whatever. As such, there's no way for that instance to access the attributes of the member field that's declaring it.
(I suppose you might want to try to access the garbage collector to find out where in memory the this object lives, but that's probably way beyond the scope of this problem, and in any case, not something I know how to do.)
I suspect your problem lies elsewhere entirely. Maybe you need to require your customer to make TestClassOne and TestClassTwo derive from a common abstract class. Maybe they need to derive from BaseClass themselves. Maybe you need to add parameters to the constructor. Maybe you need to provide a different interface altogether. We can't know unless you provide more information on your specific business requirements.
Edit:
To access the attributes declared on the MyTest member, try something along these lines:
public class BaseClass
{
public string Test
{
get {
var attr = typeof(Test).GetMembers().Where(x => x.Type == this.GetType()).First().GetCustomAttributes(true);
return null;
}
}
}
This will search class Test for a member with the same type as this and look for attributes on that member.
(I don't have my Visual Studio here, to check the exact Where syntax, but it should be pretty close to that...)
Original Answer:
Your attribute is declared on the MyTest member of class Test. But, you're doing GetCustomAttributes on class SubClass itself.
Try this:
[MyAttr("apa")]
public class SubClass : BaseClass
{
}
public class Test
{
public SubClass MyTest = new SubClass();
}
Should get you what you want.

Can I force a subclass to declare a constant?

I want to force subclasses to define a constant value.
Like
const string SomeConstantEverySubclassMustDefine = "abc";
I need that because I need to have it tied to the Type, rather than to the instance and you can't override static Methods/Properties iirc.
I'd really like to have a compile-time check for those constants.
Let me explain in more detail:
Some classes in our Domain-Model are special, you can take certain actions for them, depending on the type. Thus the logic is tied to the type. The action to be taken requires a string tied to the type. I sure could create an instance everytime as a workaround and declare an abstract property, but that's not what I want. I want to enforce the declaration of the string at compile-time, just to be sure.
No, you can't. I would suggest you make your base class abstract, with an abstract property which you can fetch when you want. Each child class can then implement the property just by returning a constant if it wants. The downside is that you can't use this within static methods in the base class - but those aren't associated with the child classes anyway.
(It also allows child classes to customise the property per instance as well, if necessary... but that's rarely an actual problem.)
If this doesn't do enough for you, you might want to consider a parallel type hierarchy. Basically polymorphism simply doesn't happen in a type-specific way in .NET; only in an instance-specific way.
If you still want to do this and fetch it with reflection, I suggest you just write unit tests to ensure that the relevant constants are defined. When you get beyond what the type system can describe, that's often the best you can do.
Make an abstract property with only a get. That's what I think you could do to enforce a class has a value. Then you can just return a constant in the property.
Example:
Base class:
public abstract string MyConst { get; }
Derived class:
public override string MyConst {
get { return "constant"; }
}
Here is how I made mine work. I used Attribute as others have suggested.
public class ObjectAttribute : Attribute
{
public int ObjectSize { get; set; }
public ObjectAttribute(int objectSize)
{
this.ObjectSize = objectSize;
}
}
public abstract class BaseObject
{
public static int GetObjectSize<T>() where T : IPacket
{
ObjectAttribute[] attributes = (ObjectAttribute[])typeof(T).GetCustomAttributes(typeof(ObjectAttribute), false);
return attributes.Length > 0 ? attributes[0].ObjectSize : 0;
}
}
[ObjectAttribute(15)]
public class AObject : BaseObject
{
public string Code { get; set; }
public int Height { get; set; }
}
[ObjectAttribute(25)]
public class BObject : BaseObject
{
public string Code { get; set; }
public int Weight { get; set; }
}
If you would like instance access to the attribute just add it to the base abstract class.
public abstract class BaseObject
{
public static int GetObjectSize<T>() where T : IPacket
{
ObjectAttribute[] attributes = (ObjectAttribute[])typeof(T).GetCustomAttributes(typeof(ObjectAttribute), false);
return attributes.Length > 0 ? attributes[0].ObjectSize : 0;
}
public int ObjectSize
{
get
{
ObjectAttribute[] attributes = (ObjectAttribute[])GetType().GetCustomAttributes(typeof(ObjectAttribute), false);
return attributes.Length > 0 ? attributes[0].ObjectSize : 0;
}
}
}
Usage of the constants
int constantValueA = AObject.GetObjectSize<AObject>();
int constantValueB = BObject.GetObjectSize<BObject>();
AObject aInstance = new AObject();
int instanceValueA = aInstance.ObjectSize;
New idea
Here's a sort of weird idea: instead of using inheritance directly, you create a separate class to provide a constant value for every type deriving from some type T. The constructor for this type uses reflection to verify that every derived type has indeed been supplied a value.
public abstract class Constant<T, TConstant>
{
private Dictionary<Type, TConstant> _constants;
protected Constant()
{
_constants = new Dictionary<Type, TConstant>();
// Here any class deriving from Constant<T, TConstant>
// should put a value in the dictionary for every type
// deriving from T, using the DefineConstant method below.
DefineConstants();
EnsureConstantsDefinedForAllTypes();
}
protected abstract void DefineConstants();
protected void DefineConstant<U>(TConstant constant) where U : T
{
_constants[typeof(U)] = constant;
}
private void EnsureConstantsDefinedForAllTypes()
{
Type baseType = typeof(T);
// Here we discover all types deriving from T
// and verify that each has a key present in the
// dictionary.
var appDomain = AppDomain.CurrentDomain;
var assemblies = appDomain.GetAssemblies();
var types = assemblies
.SelectMany(a => a.GetTypes())
.Where(t => baseType.IsAssignableFrom(t));
foreach (Type t in types)
{
if (!_constants.ContainsKey(t))
{
throw new Exception(
string.Format("No constant defined for type '{0}'.", t)
);
}
}
}
public TConstant GetValue<U>() where U : T
{
return _constants[typeof(U)];
}
}
Basic example:
public class BaseType
{
public static Constant<BaseType, string> Description { get; private set; }
static BaseType()
{
Description = new BaseTypeDescription();
}
}
public class DerivedType : BaseType
{ }
internal sealed class BaseTypeDescription : Constant<BaseType, string>
{
public BaseTypeDescription() : base()
{ }
protected override DefineConstants()
{
DefineConstant<BaseType>("A base type");
DefineConstant<DerivedType>("A derived type");
}
}
Now I have code that allows me to do this:
var description = BaseType.Description;
// returns "A base type"
string baseTypeDescription = description.GetValue<BaseType>();
// returns "A derived type"
string derivedTypeDescription = description.GetValue<DerivedType>();
Original answer
You may not like it, but the closest way to accomplish this is by declaring an abstract read-only (no set) property.
If you've got an instance of your subclass, then this can work just as well as a constant, even though it is technically instance-level (it will just be the same for all instances of the given class).
Consider, for instance, IList.IsReadOnly. In most cases this is actually a property that tells you about the underlying class implementation, as opposed to any state specific to a particular instance. (It may be an interface member as opposed to an abstract class member, but it's the same idea.)
If you are trying to access it statically, well... then you're out of luck. But in this case I fail to see how you'd obtain the value without using reflection anyway. Maybe that's your intention; I don't know.
You could have a static method in the base class called, for instance "Register", that is passed a Type and a constant value, with the intention being that it is called by the class constructors of the subtypes. Then, add a check in all of your base class constructors that the object being constructed is of a registered type.
abstract class Base
{
private static Dictionary<Type, string> _registry = new Dictionary<Type, string>();
protected static void Register(Type t, string constVal)
{
_registry.Add(t, constVal);
}
protected Base()
{
if(!_registry.ContainsKey(this.GetType()))
throw new NotSupportedException("Type must have a registered constant");
}
public string TypeConstant
{
get
{
return _registry[this.GetType()];
}
}
}
class GoodSubtype : Base
{
static GoodSubtype()
{
Base.Register(typeof(GoodSubtype), "Good");
}
public GoodSubtype()
: base()
{
}
}
class Badsubtype : Base
{
public Badsubtype()
: base()
{
}
}
And then elsewhere, you can construct GoodSubtype instances, but trying to construct a Badsubtype gets an exception. I think a runtime error at construction is the soonest you can get an error with this type of scheme.
(You'd want to use ConcurrentDictionary for your registry if threading is involved)
There's one other method that hasn't been covered and it uses the new modifier to hide consts values in the base class. In a way, it's similar to Nap's solution, but doesn't allow per-instance access and therefore doesn't allow for polymorphic access within the base class. This solution is only useful if you want to have constant value defined but wish to have the option of changing it to different values in different subclasses.
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Console.WriteLine("BaseClass.MyConst = {0}, ClassA.MyConst = {1}, ClassB.MyConst = {2}", BaseClass.MyConst, ClassA.MyConst, ClassB.MyConst);
Console.ReadKey();
}
class BaseClass
{
public const int MyConst = 1;
}
class ClassA : BaseClass
{
public new const int MyConst = 2;
}
class ClassB : BaseClass
{
}

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