How to cast Object to its actual type

Question

If I have   void MyMethod Object obj                How can I cast obj to what its actual type is

User · Answer

If your MyFunction   method is defined only in one class  and its descendants   try   void MyMethod Object obj         var o   obj as MyClass      if  o    null          o MyFunction        If you have a large number in unrelated classes defining the function you want to call  you should define an interface and make your classes define that interface   interface IMyInterface       void MyFunction       void MyMethod Object obj         var o   obj as IMyInterface      if  o    null          o MyFunction

User · Answer

If you know the actual type  then just   SomeType typed    SomeType obj  typed MyFunction      If you don t know the actual type  then  not really  no  You would have to instead use one of    reflection implementing a well-known interface dynamic   For example      reflection obj GetType   GetMethod  MyFunction   Invoke obj  null       interface IFoo foo    IFoo obj     where SomeType   IFoo and IFoo declares MyFunction foo MyFunction        dynamic dynamic d   obj  d MyFunction

User · Answer

This method might not be the most efficient but is simple and does the job   It performs two operations  firstly it calls  ToString   which is basiclly a serialization  and then the deserialization using Newtonsoft nuget  which you must install    public T Format lt T gt  Object obj    gt      JsonConvert DeserializeObject lt T gt  obj ToString

User · Answer

If multiple types are possible  the method itself does not know the type to cast  but the caller does  you might use something like this  void TheObliviousHelperMethod lt T gt  object obj         T obj ThatClassMethodYouWantedToInvoke          Meanwhile  where the method is called  TheObliviousHelperMethod lt ActualType gt  obj    Restrictions on the type could be added using the where keyword after the parentheses

User · Answer

Implement an interface to call your function in your method interface IMyInterface    void MyinterfaceMethod       IMyInterface MyObj   obj as IMyInterface  if   MyObj    null    MyMethod IMyInterface MyObj

User · Answer

In my case AutoMapper works well   AutoMapper can map to from dynamic objects without any explicit configuration   public class Foo       public int Bar   get  set        public int Baz   get  set      dynamic foo   new MyDynamicObject    foo Bar   5  foo Baz   6   Mapper Initialize cfg   gt        var result   Mapper Map lt Foo gt  foo   result Bar ShouldEqual 5   result Baz ShouldEqual 6    dynamic foo2   Mapper Map lt MyDynamicObject gt  result   foo2 Bar ShouldEqual 5   foo2 Baz ShouldEqual 6     Similarly you can map straight from dictionaries to objects  AutoMapper will line up the keys with property names   more info https   github com AutoMapper AutoMapper wiki Dynamic-and-ExpandoObject-Mapping

User · Answer

How about JsonConvert DeserializeObject object ToString

User · Answer

I don t think you can  not without reflection   you should provide a type to your function as well   void MyMethod Object obj  Type t        var convertedObject   Convert ChangeType obj  t               UPD   This may work for you   void MyMethod Object obj        if  obj is A                A a   obj as A                         else if  obj is B                B b   obj as B

User · Answer

Cast it to its real type if you now the type for example it is oriented from class named abc  You can call your function in this way     abc  obj   MyFunction      if you don t know the function it can be done in a different way  Not easy always  But you can find it in some way by it s signature  If this is your case  you should let us know

User · Answer

Casting to actual type is easy   void MyMethod Object obj        ActualType actualyType    ActualType obj

[c#] How to cast Object to its actual type?

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