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How can I call a reflected Func<T, T> property using Expression Trees

I have a generic class with a lambda property defined as such:
public class Transformation<TProperty> : TransformationBase
{
public Func<TProperty, TProperty> Transform { get; private set; }
...
I'm trying to compile an Action that can call this Transform property (on a property of Foo). I don't know TProperty at compile-time. I've started with this:
private static Action<Foo> Compile(Transformation transformation)
{
var fooParameter = Expression.Parameter(typeof(Foo));
var changePropertyValue = Expression.Constant(transformation);
var transformProperty = Expression.Property(changePropertyValue, "Transform");
var transfromCall = Expression.Call(transformProperty, ?
}
How can I call/execute the transformProperty?
EDIT: Foo (which is known a compile time) has an untyped property Value which needs to be transformed using the Transform property of the Transformation:
public class Foo {
public object Value { get; set; }
}
So, hand-written as an example where TProperty is string it would be:
Foo foo = ... // coming from an external source
Transformation<string> tranformation = ... // coming from an external source
foo.Value = transformation.Transform((string)foo.Value);
Except that I don't know the exact type of the Transformation as it is defined in an external assembly. So, instead of string it could be int or something else. That's why I want to use Expression Trees to compile an Action for a given transformation, such that I can call:
Foo foo = ... // coming from an external source
TransformationBase transformation = ... // coming from an external source
Action<Foo> transform = Compile(transformation);
transform(foo); // should transform foo.Value using the Transform property of 'transformation'
Note: I made Transformation inherit from TransformationBase to clarify this discussion.

Your problems relate more to the lack of typing around your problem. Foo.Value is loosely typed, but your transform functions are strongly typed. Expression Trees are also strongly typed. Using them doesn't allow you to magically call code in a loosely typed manner.
The solution is either a lot of reflection, or some easy dynamic:
EDIT: I added CompileUntyped which uses ExpressionTrees.I also added CompileReflection, which uses Reflection without ExpressionTrees. I would recommend the one that uses dynamic. It is by far the easiest to read, hence the easiest to maintain.
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var testTransform = new Transformation<string>
{
Transform = s => s.ToUpper()
};
var a = Compile(testTransform);
var foo = new Foo
{
Value = "test"
};
a(foo);
//foo.Value is now TEST
}
public static Action<Foo> CompileReflection(TransformationBase transformation)
{
var f = transformation
.GetType()
.GetProperty("Transform")
.GetGetMethod()
.Invoke(transformation, null) as Delegate;
return foo => foo.Value = f.DynamicInvoke(foo.Value);
}
public static Action<Foo> Compile(TransformationBase transformation)
{
return new Action<Foo>(f =>
{
dynamic d = f.Value;
dynamic t = transformation;
f.Value = t.Transform(d);
});
}
public static Action<Foo> CompileUntyped(TransformationBase transformation)
{
var transformType = transformation.GetType();
var genericType = transformType.GetGenericArguments().First();
var fooParam = Expression.Parameter(typeof(Foo), "f");
var valueGetter = typeof(Foo).GetProperty("Value").GetGetMethod();
var valueSetter = typeof(Foo).GetProperty("Value").GetSetMethod();
var transformFuncMember = transformType.GetProperty("Transform").GetGetMethod();
//Equivalent to f => f.Value = transformation.Transform((T)f.Value)
//Where T is the generic type parameter of the Transformation, and f is of type Foo
var expression = Expression.Lambda<Action<Foo>>(
Expression.Call(
fooParam,
valueSetter,
Expression.Invoke(
Expression.Property(
Expression.Constant(transformation, transformType),
transformFuncMember
),
Expression.Convert(
Expression.Property(fooParam, valueGetter),
genericType
)
)
), fooParam
);
return expression.Compile();
}
}
public class TransformationBase { }
public class Transformation<TProperty> : TransformationBase
{
public Func<TProperty, TProperty> Transform { get; set; }
}
public class Foo
{
public object Value { get; set; }
}

Not sure what are you trying to do BUT if I understand your intentions - I do not see need for compiling Expressions:
private static Action<TProperty> Compile<TProperty>(Transformation<TProperty> transformation)
{
return new Action<TProperty>(p => transformation.Transform(p));
}

See an example, it should give you what you want.
void Main()
{
var dummyObject = new Dummy { Test = "Hello!" };
var propertyTransform = Create(dummyObject, "Test");
propertyTransform(dummyObject);
Console.WriteLine("Final transformation " + dummyObject.Test);
}
class Dummy {
public string Test { get; set; }
}
// Define other methods and classes here
public class Transformation<TProperty>
{
public Func<TProperty, TProperty> Transform { get; set; }
}
public static Action<TObj> Create<TObj>(TObj myObject, string property){
var prop = myObject
.GetType()
.GetProperty(property);
var val = prop.GetValue(myObject);
var transformation = Create((dynamic)val);
var transform = transformation.Transform;
return obj => {
var newValue = transform((dynamic)val);
prop.SetValue(myObject, newValue);
};
}
public static Transformation<TProperty> Create<TProperty>(TProperty property){
var transformation = new Transformation<TProperty>();
// just a dummy hijacking.
if(typeof(TProperty)==typeof(string)){
Func<string, string> test = input => "I am changed man!";
transformation.Transform = (dynamic)test;
}
return transformation;
}
Output:
Final transformation I am changed man!

Multiple expression in LINQ select

I want combine my expression built in runtime (CustomExpression) with ordinary select clausule. Is there any way in C# to do this without manually building whole expression?
var dto = iqueryable.Select(d => new DTO()
{
X = d.X,
Y = d.Y,
Z = CustomExpression
}
Where CustomExpression is something like this:
private Expression<Func<EntityTypeFromIQueryable, string>> CustomExpression() {
get {
// there is manually built expression like this:
return x => x.Blah
}
}

You have to insert some kind of compilable placeholder (like an Extension Method) into your expression first. Then, at runtime, you can modify the expression using an Expression Visitor to replace your "placeholder" with the actual lambda expression. Since your actual expression uses different Parameters (d vs. x) you have to replace them with those of the "original" expression.
In fact, i'm playing around with such scenarios within this project, where i've tried to abstract this kind of expression plumbing. Your "combine" would then look like that:
var dto = iqueryable.ToInjectable().Select(d => new DTO()
{
X = d.X,
Y = d.Y,
Z = d.CustomExpression()
}
public static class CustomExpressions
{
[InjectLambda]
public static string CustomExpression(this EntityTypeFromIQueryable value)
{
// this function is just a placeholder
// you can implement it for non LINQ use too...
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
public static Expression<Func<EntityTypeFromIQueryable, string>> CustomExpression()
{
return x => x.Blah
}
}
The call ToInjectable() creates a lightweight proxy around the original Queryable to modify the expression before execution as described. The attribute InjectLambda marks the "placeholder" as "inject lambda here". By convention the actual expression returned by ToInjectable() gets inserted at the desired position.

You can do it in following way:
static void MultipleExpressionInSelectStatement()
{
List<person> p = new List<person>();
p.Add(new person() { name = "AB", age = 18 });
p.Add(new person() { name = "CD", age = 45 });
var dto = p.Select(d => new person()
{
name=d.name,
age=p.Select(ListExtensions.CustomExpression()).ElementAt(0)
});
}
//customExpression
public static class ListExtensions
{
public static Func<person, int> CustomExpression()
{
return x => x.age;
}
}
//Person Object
public class person
{
public string name { get; set; }
public int age { get; set; }
}

How to Convert Lambda Expression To Sql?

I am developing a small framework to access the database. I want to add a feature that makes a query using a lambda expression. How do I do this?
public class TestModel
{
public int Id {get;set;}
public string Name {get;set;}
}
public class Repository<T>
{
// do something.
}
For example:
var repo = new Repository<TestModel>();
var query = repo.AsQueryable().Where(x => x.Name == "test");
// This query must be like this:
// SELECT * FROM testmodel WHERE name = 'test'
var list = query.ToDataSet();
// When I call ToDataSet(), it will get the dataset after running the made query.

Go on and create a LINQ Provider (I am sure you don't want to do this, anyway).
It's a lot of work, so maybe you just want to use NHibernate or Entity Framework or something like that.
If your queries are rather simple, maybe you don't need a full blown LINQ Provider. Have a look at Expression Trees (which are used by LINQ Providers).
You can hack something like this:
public static class QueryExtensions
{
public static IEnumerable<TSource> Where<TSource>(this Repo<TSource> source, Expression<Func<TSource, bool>> predicate)
{
// hacks all the way
dynamic operation = predicate.Body;
dynamic left = operation.Left;
dynamic right = operation.Right;
var ops = new Dictionary<ExpressionType, String>();
ops.Add(ExpressionType.Equal, "=");
ops.Add(ExpressionType.GreaterThan, ">");
// add all required operations here
// Instead of SELECT *, select all required fields, since you know the type
var q = String.Format("SELECT * FROM {0} WHERE {1} {2} {3}", typeof(TSource), left.Member.Name, ops[operation.NodeType], right.Value);
return source.RunQuery(q);
}
}
public class Repo<T>
{
internal IEnumerable<T> RunQuery(string query)
{
return new List<T>(); // run query here...
}
}
public class TestModel
{
public int Id { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
}
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var repo = new Repo<TestModel>();
var result = repo.Where(e => e.Name == "test");
var result2 = repo.Where(e => e.Id > 200);
}
}
Please, don't use this as it is. This is just a quick and dirty example how expression trees can be analyzed to create SQL statements.
Why not just use Linq2Sql, NHibernate or EntityFramework...

if you want to do things like
db.Employee
.Where(e => e.Title == "Spectre")
.Set(e => e.Title, "Commander")
.Update();
or
db
.Into(db.Employee)
.Value(e => e.FirstName, "John")
.Value(e => e.LastName, "Shepard")
.Value(e => e.Title, "Spectre")
.Value(e => e.HireDate, () => Sql.CurrentTimestamp)
.Insert();
or
db.Employee
.Where(e => e.Title == "Spectre")
.Delete();
Then check out this, BLToolkit

You might want to look at http://iqtoolkit.codeplex.com/ Which is very complex and i dont recommend you to build something from scratch.
I just wrote something close to dkons's answer I will add it anyway. Just using fluent interface nothing more.
public class Query<T> where T : class
{
private Dictionary<string, string> _dictionary;
public Query()
{
_dictionary = new Dictionary<string, string>();
}
public Query<T> Eq(Expression<Func<T, string>> property)
{
AddOperator("Eq", property.Name);
return this;
}
public Query<T> StartsWith(Expression<Func<T, string>> property)
{
AddOperator("Sw", property.Name);
return this;
}
public Query<T> Like(Expression<Func<T, string>> property)
{
AddOperator("Like", property.Name);
return this;
}
private void AddOperator(string opName, string prop)
{
_dictionary.Add(opName,prop);
}
public void Run(T t )
{
//Extract props of T by reflection and Build query
}
}
Lets say you have a model like
class Model
{
public string Surname{ get; set; }
public string Name{ get; set; }
}
You can use this as :
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Model m = new Model() {Name = "n", Surname = "s"};
var q = new Query<Model>();
q.Eq(x => x.Name).Like(x=>x.Surname).Run(m);
}

C# Reflection: Fastest Way to Update a Property Value?

Is this the fastest way to update a property using reflection? Assume the property is always an int:
PropertyInfo counterPropertyInfo = GetProperty();
int value = (int)counterPropertyInfo.GetValue(this, null);
counterPropertyInfo.SetValue(this, value + 1, null);

I did some benchmarking here when you know the type arguments (a non generic approach wont be very different). CreateDelegate would be the fastest approach for a property if you can't directly access it. With CreateDelegate you get a direct handle to GetGetMethod and GetSetMethod of the PropertyInfo, hence reflection is not used every time.
public static Func<S, T> BuildGetAccessor<S, T>(Expression<Func<S, T>> propertySelector)
{
return propertySelector.GetPropertyInfo().GetGetMethod().CreateDelegate<Func<S, T>>();
}
public static Action<S, T> BuildSetAccessor<S, T>(Expression<Func<S, T>> propertySelector)
{
return propertySelector.GetPropertyInfo().GetSetMethod().CreateDelegate<Action<S, T>>();
}
// a generic extension for CreateDelegate
public static T CreateDelegate<T>(this MethodInfo method) where T : class
{
return Delegate.CreateDelegate(typeof(T), method) as T;
}
public static PropertyInfo GetPropertyInfo<S, T>(this Expression<Func<S, T>> propertySelector)
{
var body = propertySelector.Body as MemberExpression;
if (body == null)
throw new MissingMemberException("something went wrong");
return body.Member as PropertyInfo;
}
So now you call:
TestClass cwp = new TestClass();
var access = BuildGetAccessor((TestClass t) => t.AnyValue);
var result = access(cwp);
Or even better you can encapsulate the logic in a dedicated class to have a get and set methods on it.
Something like:
public class Accessor<S>
{
public static Accessor<S, T> Create<T>(Expression<Func<S, T>> memberSelector)
{
return new GetterSetter<T>(memberSelector);
}
public Accessor<S, T> Get<T>(Expression<Func<S, T>> memberSelector)
{
return Create(memberSelector);
}
public Accessor()
{
}
class GetterSetter<T> : Accessor<S, T>
{
public GetterSetter(Expression<Func<S, T>> memberSelector) : base(memberSelector)
{
}
}
}
public class Accessor<S, T> : Accessor<S>
{
Func<S, T> Getter;
Action<S, T> Setter;
public bool IsReadable { get; private set; }
public bool IsWritable { get; private set; }
public T this[S instance]
{
get
{
if (!IsReadable)
throw new ArgumentException("Property get method not found.");
return Getter(instance);
}
set
{
if (!IsWritable)
throw new ArgumentException("Property set method not found.");
Setter(instance, value);
}
}
protected Accessor(Expression<Func<S, T>> memberSelector) //access not given to outside world
{
var prop = memberSelector.GetPropertyInfo();
IsReadable = prop.CanRead;
IsWritable = prop.CanWrite;
AssignDelegate(IsReadable, ref Getter, prop.GetGetMethod());
AssignDelegate(IsWritable, ref Setter, prop.GetSetMethod());
}
void AssignDelegate<K>(bool assignable, ref K assignee, MethodInfo assignor) where K : class
{
if (assignable)
assignee = assignor.CreateDelegate<K>();
}
}
Short and simple. You can carry around an instance of this class for every "class-property" pair you wish to get/set.
Usage:
Person p = new Person { Age = 23 };
var ageAccessor = Accessor<Person>(x => x.Age);
int age = ageAccessor[p]; //gets 23
ageAccessor[p] = 45; //sets 45
Bit bad use of indexers here, you may replace it with dedicated "Get" and "Set" methods, but very intuitive to me :)
To avoid having to specify type each time like,
var ageAccessor = Accessor<Person>(x => x.Age);
var nameAccessor = Accessor<Person>(x => x.Name);
var placeAccessor = Accessor<Person>(x => x.Place);
I made the base Accessor<> class instantiable, which means you can do
var personAccessor = new Accessor<Person>();
var ageAccessor = personAccessor.Get(x => x.Age);
var nameAccessor = personAccessor.Get(x => x.Name);
var placeAccessor = personAccessor.Get(x => x.Place);
Having a base Accessor<> class means you can treat them as one type, for eg,
var personAccessor = new Accessor<Person>();
var personAccessorArray = new Accessor<Person>[]
{
personAccessor.Get(x => x.Age),
personAccessor.Get(x => x.Name),
personAccessor.Get(x => x.Place);
};

You should look at FastMember (nuget, source code], it's really fast comparing to reflection.
I've tested these 3 implementations:
PropertyInfo.SetValue
PropertyInfo.SetMethod
FastMember
The benchmark needs a benchmark function:
static long Benchmark(Action action, int iterationCount, bool print = true)
{
GC.Collect();
var sw = new Stopwatch();
action(); // Execute once before
sw.Start();
for (var i = 0; i <= iterationCount; i++)
{
action();
}
sw.Stop();
if (print) System.Console.WriteLine("Elapsed: {0}ms", sw.ElapsedMilliseconds);
return sw.ElapsedMilliseconds;
}
A fake class:
public class ClassA
{
public string PropertyA { get; set; }
}
Some test methods:
private static void Set(string propertyName, string value)
{
var obj = new ClassA();
obj.PropertyA = value;
}
private static void FastMember(string propertyName, string value)
{
var obj = new ClassA();
var type = obj.GetType();
var accessors = TypeAccessor.Create(type);
accessors[obj, "PropertyA"] = "PropertyValue";
}
private static void SetValue(string propertyName, string value)
{
var obj = new ClassA();
var propertyInfo = obj.GetType().GetProperty(propertyName);
propertyInfo.SetValue(obj, value);
}
private static void SetMethodInvoke(string propertyName, string value)
{
var obj = new ClassA();
var propertyInfo = obj.GetType().GetProperty(propertyName);
propertyInfo.SetMethod.Invoke(obj, new object[] { value });
}
The script itself:
var iterationCount = 100000;
var propertyName = "PropertyA";
var value = "PropertyValue";
Benchmark(() => Set(propertyName, value), iterationCount);
Benchmark(() => FastMember(propertyName, value), iterationCount);
Benchmark(() => SetValue(propertyName, value), iterationCount);
Benchmark(() => SetMethodInvoke(propertyName, value), iterationCount);
Results for 100 000 iterations:
Default setter : 3ms
FastMember: 36ms
PropertyInfo.SetValue: 109ms
PropertyInfo.SetMethod: 91ms
Now you can choose yours !!!

Just be sure that you are caching the PropertyInfo somehow, so that you aren't repeatably calling type.GetProperty. Other than that it would probably be faster if you created a delegate to a method on the type that performed the increment, or like Teoman suggested make the type implement an interface and use that.

Calculate average in LINQ C# with string representation of property name

I need to calculate a whole bunch of averages on an List of Surveys. The surveys have lots of properties that are int and double valued. I am creating a business object to handle all the calculations (there are like 100) and I'd rather not code 100 different methods for finding the average for a particular property.
I'd like to be able to have the UI pass a string (representing the property) and have the the business object return an average for that property.
So, like...
int AverageHeightInInches = MyObject.GetIntAverage("HeightInInches");
.
.
.
Then have linq code to calculate the result.
Thanks!

I have created this little example, it uses the System.Linq.Expression namespace to create a function that can calculate averages based on the property name. The function can be cached for later use, reflection is only used to create the function, not each time the function is executed.
EDIT: I removed the existing reflection example and updated the current example to show the ability to walk a list of properties.
static class Program
{
static void Main()
{
var people = new List<Person>();
for (var i = 0; i < 1000000; i++)
{
var person = new Person { Age = i };
person.Details.Height = i;
person.Details.Name = i.ToString();
people.Add(person);
}
var averageAgeFunction = CreateIntegerAverageFunction<Person>("Age");
var averageHeightFunction = CreateIntegerAverageFunction<Person>("Details.Height");
var averageNameLengthFunction = CreateIntegerAverageFunction<Person>("Details.Name.Length");
Console.WriteLine(averageAgeFunction(people));
Console.WriteLine(averageHeightFunction(people));
Console.WriteLine(averageNameLengthFunction(people));
}
public static Func<IEnumerable<T>, double> CreateIntegerAverageFunction<T>(string property)
{
var type = typeof(T);
var properties = property.Split('.'); // Split the properties
ParameterExpression parameterExpression = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T));
Expression expression = parameterExpression;
// Iterrate over the properties creating an expression that will get the property value
for (int i = 0; i < properties.Length; i++)
{
var propertyInfo = type.GetProperty(properties[i]);
expression = Expression.Property(expression, propertyInfo); // Use the result from the previous expression as the instance to get the next property from
type = propertyInfo.PropertyType;
}
// Ensure that the last property in the sequence is an integer
if (type.Equals(typeof(int)))
{
var func = Expression.Lambda<Func<T, int>>(expression, parameterExpression).Compile();
return c => c.Average(func);
}
throw new Exception();
}
}
public class Person
{
private readonly Detials _details = new Detials();
public int Age { get; set; }
public Detials Details { get { return _details; } }
}
public class Detials
{
public int Height { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
}

Here is an example to do that.
class Survey
{
public int P1 { get; set; }
}
class MyObject
{
readonly List<Survey> _listofSurveys = new List<Survey> { new Survey { P1 = 10 }, new Survey { P1 = 20 } };
public int GetIntAverage(string propertyName)
{
var type = typeof(Survey);
var property = type.GetProperty(propertyName);
return (int)_listofSurveys.Select(x => (int) property.GetValue(x,null)).Average();
}
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var myObject = new MyObject();
Console.WriteLine(myObject.GetIntAverage("P1"));
Console.ReadKey();
}

if you are using linq2sql i would suggest DynamicLinq
you could then just do
datacontext.Surveys.Average<double>("propertyName");
the dynamic linq project provides the string overloads to IQueryable.

You can do this without reflection (both int and double are supported):
public static double Average(this IEnumerable<Survey> surveys, Func<Survey, int> selector)
{
return surveys.Average(selector);
}
public static double Average(this IEnumerable<Survey> surveys, Func<Survey, double> selector)
{
return surveys.Average(selector);
}
Usage:
var average1 = surveys.Average(survey => survey.Property1);
var average2 = surveys.Average(survey => survey.Property2);