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Does an expression tree Parameter need to reuse same instance?

I'm using a combination of reflection and expression trees, and want to pass back certain property accessors from a class to a calling method. My current code has a method traversing the class and returning a list of MemberExpressions. The caller then iterates over the member expressions and creates lambdas, which should then be called with an instance of the inspected class to return the value of the property.
Here is a sample of what it would look like without the method calls (Runnable in LINQPad):
void Main()
{
var t = new Test { Prop = "Test" };
var property = t.GetType().GetProperty("Prop");
var baseType = Expression.Parameter(typeof(Test), "baseType");
var memberAccess = Expression.MakeMemberAccess(baseType, property);
var lambda = Expression.Lambda<Func<Test, string>>(memberAccess, Expression.Parameter(typeof(Test), "baseType"));
var func = lambda.Compile();
var result = func(t);
result.Dump();
}
class Test {
public string Prop { get; set; }
}
This does not work, throwing this exception:
InvalidOperationException: variable 'baseType' of type 'UserQuery+Test' referenced from scope '', but it is not defined
However, if I change the creation of the lambda to this:
var lambda = Expression.Lambda<Func<Test, string>>(memberAccess, baseType);
That is, replace the Expression.Parameter with the variable used earlier, then it works. This is not (easily) possible in the scenario where I want to use it, since I would have to return the original parameter along with the list (I could return a tuple, of course, but I would prefer not to, if it is not necessary).
Why does it work like this? Inspecting the DebugView of the lambda, they are exactly the same no matter what approach is used:
.Lambda #Lambda1<System.Func`2[UserQuery+Test,System.String]>(UserQuery+Test $baseType)
{
$baseType.S
}

Yes, you need to refer ParameterExpression, used earlier. This won't compile too:
private String Foo(Test myParam)
{
return myAnotherParam.MyProperty;
}
With instatiating new ParameterExpression in lambda, you're doing the same thing (but note, when making lambda, you're doing it in reversed order - first, you're constructing a method body, then - a method declaration):
// return myAnotherParam.MyProperty;
var baseType = Expression.Parameter(typeof(Test), "baseType");
var memberAccess = Expression.MakeMemberAccess(baseType, property);
// private String Foo(MyClass myParam)
var lambda = Expression.Lambda<Func<Test, string>>(memberAccess, Expression.Parameter(typeof(Test), "baseType"));

How to set parameter of method using reflection

The following code is a helper I've created for a system which allows administrators to create their own queries on a database. It returns a lambda expression based on the method and value provided.
I am attempting to find a way to pass parameters to the method call - in this example I am using the StartsWith parameter of String, and attempting to set StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase as a parameter.
There will be others parameters required too, depending on the type of the property specified. I'm hoping that understanding the method of supplying the string comparison property will enable me to add the rest later.
The underlying code works correctly, I just need it to be case-insensitive.
I have used this question as a guide, but the solution does not seem applicable here.
Here is the code:
public static class LambdaExpressionHelper<T> {
public static Expression<Func<T, bool>> Build(string propertyName, string method, string propertyValue) {
PropertyInfo propertyInfo = typeof(T).GetProperty(propertyName);
ParameterExpression e = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "e");
MemberExpression m = Expression.MakeMemberAccess(e, propertyInfo);
ConstantExpression c = Expression.Constant(propertyValue, m.Type);
MethodInfo mi = m.Type.GetMethod(method, new Type[] { m.Type }, );
// The below caused errors
//object classInstance = Activator.CreateInstance(typeof(T), null);
//object[] paramArray = new object[] { StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase };
//mi.Invoke(classInstance, paramArray);
Expression call = Expression.Call(m, mi, c);
Expression<Func<T, bool>> lambda = Expression.Lambda<Func<T, bool>>(call, e);
return lambda;
}
}
// External code:
var lambda = LambdaExpressionHelper<MailingListMember>.Build("EmailAddress", "StartsWith", "RoRy#");
Thanks for any help.

In the general case this should work:
public static Expression<Func<T, bool>>
Build(string propertyName, string method, params object[] args)
{
var propertyInfo = typeof(T).GetProperty(propertyName);
var e = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "e");
var m = Expression.MakeMemberAccess(e, propertyInfo);
var mi = m.Type.GetMethod(method, args.Select(a => a.GetType()).ToArray());
var c = args.Select(a => Expression.Constant(a, a.GetType())).ToArray();
Expression call = Expression.Call(m, mi, c);
Expression<Func<T, bool>> lambda = Expression.Lambda<Func<T, bool>>(call, e);
return lambda;
}
The idea is that you accept any number of constant arguments, and use their types to select the appropriate overload when calling GetMethod. After that, you create the appropriate number of constant expressions from those arguments to pass to Expression.Call.
So with the above code, you could do:
var l1 = LambdaExpressionHelper<MailingListMember>.Build(
"EmailAddress", "StartsWith", "RoRy#");
var l2 = LambdaExpressionHelper<MailingListMember>.Build(
"EmailAddress", "StartsWith", "RoRy#", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
If you also need to get the value StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase from the string "StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase", I would factor this out into a separate method so that the interface of Build can remain generic. Exactly how to do it is covered in Getting Enum value via reflection (and I guess in lots of similar questions as well).
Note: I don't have convenient access to a compiler right now, so please excuse any mistakes.

I'm not sure i understand your question exactly, but hopefully this will help you on the way.
If you are using .NET 4.0 you can use the new keyword "dynamic" for much easier reflection code:
dynamic myDynamicObj = "Hello World!"; // or Activator.CreateInstance...
var doesIndeed = myDynamicObj.StartsWith("Hello", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
This does evaluate at run time so make sure spelling/case etc is correct.
Edit:
Assuming you always wanted to call methods with one String-arg returning bool, a possible solution would be to create a delegate type -
delegate bool CompareString(String str);
and than have the second argument of Build as that type:
Build(String .., CompareString cs, String ...)
But this does not work if you need to add extra arguments, as in the second arg of type StringComparison. A if/switch could be the answer there though, i.e if(CompareString is StartsWith)...
Sorry, not at a windows-computer so i can't test further.

How to convert PropertyInfo to property expression and use it to invoke generic method?

How to convert PropertyInfo to property expression which can be used to invoke StructuralTypeConfiguration<TStructuralType>.Ignore<TProperty>(Expression<Func<TStructuralType, TProperty>> propertyExpression) method?
I tried to use Expression.Property() to construct expression but I am getting following error when I use this expression as propertyExpression parameter:
The type arguments for method cannot be inferred from the usage. Try specifying the type arguments explicitly.
This error probably refers to TProperty type parameter which I don't know how to specify having only PropertyInfo.
I am doing this in relation to: Use Entity Framework's StructuralTypeConfiguration.Ignore() to Ignore all properties but specified set.
UPDATE
Code which is not working:
var propertyInfo = typeof(Foo).GetProperties()[0];
var expression = Expression.Default(typeof(Foo));
var expressionProperty = Expression.Property(expression, propertyInfo);
Ignore(expressionProperty);

var entityType = propertyInfo.DeclaringType;
var parameter = Expression.Parameter(entityType, "entity");
var property = Expression.Property(parameter, propertyInfo);
var funcType = typeof(Func<,>).MakeGenericType(entityType, propertyInfo.PropertyType);
var lambda = Expression.Lambda(funcType, property, parameter);
structureConfiguration.GetType()
.GetMethod("Ignore")
.MakeGenericMethod(propertyInfo.PropertyType)
.Invoke(structureConfiguration, new[]{lambda});

Property expressions require the property access to be on a specific object. There's a few options you can take here. First, if this is being done within one of your entity objects, you can simple use a ConstantExpression to build the property expression:
// Already have PropertyInfo in propInfo
Expression.Property(Expression.Constant(this, this.GetType()), propInfo)
However, since you need a Expression<Func<TStructuralType, TProperty>>, then it seems like you're going to have to build it using a ParameterExpression:
ParameterExpression pe = Parameter.Expression(typeof(MyEntity), "eParam");
Expression propExp = Expression.Property(pe, propInfo);
HOWEVER, here's the kicker... This is just a MemberExpression. To convert to the expression you need, you need to use Expression.Lambda to get a Func<> expression of the type you need. The problem? You don't know the type of the property to define the generic parameters of the lambda expression!
Expression<Func<MyEntity, ????>> eFunc = Expression.Lambda<Func<MyEntity, ????>>(propExp, pe);
This is the crux of the problem of doing it this way. That's not to say it can't be done... It's just that using this method IN THIS WAY isn't going to work. You'll have to use a bit runtime and static typing trickery (as well as judicious use of Actions instead of Funcs) to get this to work correctly.

TProperty exists only in the c# source code text. The compiler always resolves it to a concrete type. If you have a method
void Test<T>(T arg)
{
}
and call it like this
Test("hello");
Test(3);
The compiler generates code for two methods!
void Test(string arg)
{
}
void Test(int arg)
{
}
This means that you have to supply concrete types for your generic parameters if you want to have an invokable method.

This code will get you an Expression<Func<>> of the desired type. Note that there is an Expression.Lambda(...) override that doesn't need you to specify the type of the Func returned.
var t = typeof(Foo);
var pi = t.GetProperty(...);
var prm = Expression.Parameter(t, t.Name);
var prx = Expression.Property(prm, pi);
var lambda = Expression.Lambda(prx, prm);
Note that in many cases you don't have to bother with creating the Expression<Func<>> this way, assuming structureConfiguration below is a StructureConfiguration<Foo>, type inference will allow you to write something like this:
structureConfiguration.Ignore(f => f.Bar);

How would I add type specific implementations to linq binary expressions?

I have a fairly simple expression parser that uses the Linq.Expression namespace.
Input is something like: (1+1), it finds the left and right constants, and converts the operator char to an ExpressionTypes enum value, creates the appropriate expression, compiles and executes.
I'd really like to be able to do string manipulations, (abc+def) would evaluate to abcdef for instance, however:
System.InvalidOperationException: The binary operator Add is not defined for the types 'System.String' and 'System.String'
How would I go about implementing this myself?
Something like the equavlant to an ExpressionTypes.Concat would be ideal.

You have to create the MethodCallExpression yourself, which in this case is for the static method string.Concat. (This is what the compiler does itself when you compile such code)

Here's some code that demonstrates using MethodInfo to extend the definition of the binary expression Add to concatenation of strings.
One example uses the existing Concat method in the String type.
The second example uses a custom Concat method in the Program type (the class this is all embedded in):
private MethodInfo ConcatMethod = typeof(string).GetMethod("Concat", new Type[] { typeof(string), typeof(string) });
private MethodInfo ConcatMethod2 = typeof(Program).GetMethod("Concat", new Type[] { typeof(string), typeof(int) });
public static string Concat(string obj1, int obj2)
{
return string.Concat(obj1, obj2.ToString());
}
private Expression SomeCode(string leftStr, string rightStr)
{
Expression left = Expression.Constant(leftStr);
Expression right = Expression.Constant(rightStr);
return Expression.Add(left, right, ConcatMethod);
}
private Expression SomeCode(string leftStr, int rightInt)
{
Expression left = Expression.Constant(leftStr);
Expression right = Expression.Constant(rightInt);
return Expression.Add(left, right, ConcatMethod2);
}
static void CheesyTest2()
{
Program foo = new Program();
Expression exp = foo.SomeCode("abc", "def");
LambdaExpression lambdaExpression = Expression.Lambda(exp);
Delegate func = lambdaExpression.Compile();
object result = func.DynamicInvoke();
Console.WriteLine(string.Format("Expression result: {0}", result));
exp = foo.SomeCode("abc", 42);
lambdaExpression = Expression.Lambda(exp);
func = lambdaExpression.Compile();
result = func.DynamicInvoke();
Console.WriteLine(string.Format("Expression2 result: {0}", result));
}

For custom operators it's actually a method call so you need to find the corresponding method and create the expression tree for calling that method. Haven't work much with expression trees so im affraid I can't give you a code sample but I hope this Helps none the less

Accessing calling object from MethodCallExpression

I'm trying to learn about Expression trees, and I've created a method that takes an
Expression<Func<bool>>
and executes it if it satisfies some conditions - see the code below.
private static void TryCommand(Expression<Func<bool>> expression)
{
var methodCallExpression = expression.Body as MethodCallExpression;
if (methodCallExpression == null)
{
throw new ArgumentException("expression must be a MethodCallExpression.");
}
if (methodCallExpression.Object.Type != typeof (MyClass))
{
throw new ArgumentException("expression must be operating on an instanceof MyClass.");
}
var func = expression.Compile();
var success = func.Invoke();
if(!success)
{
Console.WriteLine(methodCallExpression.Method.Name + "() failed with error code " + (func.Target as MyClass).GetError());
}
}
The problem that
(func.Target as MyClass)
is null. Clearly I'm doing something wrong! How do I access the instance that the method is operating on?

Akash, once you have a MethodCallExpression it's simple to recover the method caller.
You must recover the MemberExpression and build an Expression tree that evaluates it.
See the code below:
MethodCallExpression methodCallExpression = (MethodCallExpression)expression.Body;
MemberExpression memberExpression = (MemberExpression)methodCallExpression.Object;
Expression<Func<Object>> getCallerExpression = Expression<Func<Object>>.Lambda<Func<Object>>(memberExpression);
Func<Object> getCaller = getCallerExpression.Compile();
MyClass caller = (MyClass)getCaller();
Hope this helps,
Ricardo Lacerda Castelo Branco

The target of the method call is an instance of MyClass, but the delegate itself isn't the method call. It's something which will perform the method call when it's executed.
If you look at func.Target, you'll see it's a System.Runtime.CompilerServices.ExecutionScope.
Now you could test for that, cast to it, and then fetch either the Locals or the Globals (not sure which) to get the target. However, I suspect it would be cleaner just to change to use a Func<int> (or whatever type your error code is) and return the error code when you execute the delegate in the first place. Then you wouldn't even need an expression tree.
EDIT: Given your comments, I'd suggest:
public static void TryCommand(Expression<Func<MyClass,bool>> command,
MyClass c)
{
// Code as before to find the method name etc.
Func<MyClass, bool> compiled = command.Compile();
if (!compiled(c))
{
Console.WriteLine(methodCallExpression.Method.Name
+ "() failed with error code " + c.GetError());
}
}
You'd then call it with:
TryCommand(x => x.SomeMethod(), myClass);

The target is null because the method is static. In reflection Invoke(..) on a static MethodInfo will ignore the target. This is likely an extension method, in which case the first argument is the inferred target.
Since most of LINQ is based on extension methods you'll see this quite often going forward with reflection.