[c#] Retrieving Property name from lambda expression

Is there a better way to get the Property name when passed in via a lambda expression? Here is what i currently have.

eg.

GetSortingInfo<User>(u => u.UserId);

It worked by casting it as a memberexpression only when the property was a string. because not all properties are strings i had to use object but then it would return a unaryexpression for those.

public static RouteValueDictionary GetInfo<T>(this HtmlHelper html, 
    Expression<Func<T, object>> action) where T : class
{
    var expression = GetMemberInfo(action);
    string name = expression.Member.Name;

    return GetInfo(html, name);
}

private static MemberExpression GetMemberInfo(Expression method)
{
    LambdaExpression lambda = method as LambdaExpression;
    if (lambda == null)
        throw new ArgumentNullException("method");

    MemberExpression memberExpr = null;

    if (lambda.Body.NodeType == ExpressionType.Convert)
    {
        memberExpr = 
            ((UnaryExpression)lambda.Body).Operand as MemberExpression;
    }
    else if (lambda.Body.NodeType == ExpressionType.MemberAccess)
    {
        memberExpr = lambda.Body as MemberExpression;
    }

    if (memberExpr == null)
        throw new ArgumentException("method");

    return memberExpr;
}

This is a general implementation to get the string name of fields/properties/indexers/methods/extension methods/delegates of struct/class/interface/delegate/array. I have tested with combinations of static/instance and non-generic/generic variants.

//involves recursion
public static string GetMemberName(this LambdaExpression memberSelector)
{
    Func<Expression, string> nameSelector = null;  //recursive func
    nameSelector = e => //or move the entire thing to a separate recursive method
    {
        switch (e.NodeType)
        {
            case ExpressionType.Parameter:
                return ((ParameterExpression)e).Name;
            case ExpressionType.MemberAccess:
                return ((MemberExpression)e).Member.Name;
            case ExpressionType.Call:
                return ((MethodCallExpression)e).Method.Name;
            case ExpressionType.Convert:
            case ExpressionType.ConvertChecked:
                return nameSelector(((UnaryExpression)e).Operand);
            case ExpressionType.Invoke:
                return nameSelector(((InvocationExpression)e).Expression);
            case ExpressionType.ArrayLength:
                return "Length";
            default:
                throw new Exception("not a proper member selector");
        }
    };

    return nameSelector(memberSelector.Body);
}

This thing can be written in a simple while loop too:

//iteration based
public static string GetMemberName(this LambdaExpression memberSelector)
{
    var currentExpression = memberSelector.Body;

    while (true)
    {
        switch (currentExpression.NodeType)
        {
            case ExpressionType.Parameter:
                return ((ParameterExpression)currentExpression).Name;
            case ExpressionType.MemberAccess:
                return ((MemberExpression)currentExpression).Member.Name;
            case ExpressionType.Call:
                return ((MethodCallExpression)currentExpression).Method.Name;
            case ExpressionType.Convert:
            case ExpressionType.ConvertChecked:
                currentExpression = ((UnaryExpression)currentExpression).Operand;
                break;
            case ExpressionType.Invoke:
                currentExpression = ((InvocationExpression)currentExpression).Expression;
                break;
            case ExpressionType.ArrayLength:
                return "Length";
            default:
                throw new Exception("not a proper member selector");
        }
    }
}

I like the recursive approach, though the second one might be easier to read. One can call it like:

someExpr = x => x.Property.ExtensionMethod()[0]; //or
someExpr = x => Static.Method().Field; //or
someExpr = x => VoidMethod(); //or
someExpr = () => localVariable; //or
someExpr = x => x; //or
someExpr = x => (Type)x; //or
someExpr = () => Array[0].Delegate(null); //etc

string name = someExpr.GetMemberName();

to print the last member.

Note:

1. In case of chained expressions like A.B.C, "C" is returned.

2. This doesn't work with consts, array indexers or enums (impossible to cover all cases).

There's an edge case when it comes to Array.Length. While 'Length' is exposed as a property, you can't use it in any of the previously proposed solutions.

using Contract = System.Diagnostics.Contracts.Contract;
using Exprs = System.Linq.Expressions;

static string PropertyNameFromMemberExpr(Exprs.MemberExpression expr)
{
    return expr.Member.Name;
}

static string PropertyNameFromUnaryExpr(Exprs.UnaryExpression expr)
{
    if (expr.NodeType == Exprs.ExpressionType.ArrayLength)
        return "Length";

    var mem_expr = expr.Operand as Exprs.MemberExpression;

    return PropertyNameFromMemberExpr(mem_expr);
}

static string PropertyNameFromLambdaExpr(Exprs.LambdaExpression expr)
{
         if (expr.Body is Exprs.MemberExpression)   return PropertyNameFromMemberExpr(expr.Body as Exprs.MemberExpression);
    else if (expr.Body is Exprs.UnaryExpression)    return PropertyNameFromUnaryExpr(expr.Body as Exprs.UnaryExpression);

    throw new NotSupportedException();
}

public static string PropertyNameFromExpr<TProp>(Exprs.Expression<Func<TProp>> expr)
{
    Contract.Requires<ArgumentNullException>(expr != null);
    Contract.Requires<ArgumentException>(expr.Body is Exprs.MemberExpression || expr.Body is Exprs.UnaryExpression);

    return PropertyNameFromLambdaExpr(expr);
}

public static string PropertyNameFromExpr<T, TProp>(Exprs.Expression<Func<T, TProp>> expr)
{
    Contract.Requires<ArgumentNullException>(expr != null);
    Contract.Requires<ArgumentException>(expr.Body is Exprs.MemberExpression || expr.Body is Exprs.UnaryExpression);

    return PropertyNameFromLambdaExpr(expr);
}

Now example usage:

int[] someArray = new int[1];
Console.WriteLine(PropertyNameFromExpr( () => someArray.Length ));

If PropertyNameFromUnaryExpr didn't check for ArrayLength, "someArray" would be printed to the console (compiler seems to generate direct access to the backing Length field, as an optimization, even in Debug, thus the special case).

Starting with .NET 4.0 you can use ExpressionVisitor to find properties:

class ExprVisitor : ExpressionVisitor {
    public bool IsFound { get; private set; }
    public string MemberName { get; private set; }
    public Type MemberType { get; private set; }
    protected override Expression VisitMember(MemberExpression node) {
        if (!IsFound && node.Member.MemberType == MemberTypes.Property) {
            IsFound = true;
            MemberName = node.Member.Name;
            MemberType = node.Type;
        }
        return base.VisitMember(node);
    }
}

Here is how you use this visitor:

var visitor = new ExprVisitor();
visitor.Visit(expr);
if (visitor.IsFound) {
    Console.WriteLine("First property in the expression tree: Name={0}, Type={1}", visitor.MemberName, visitor.MemberType.FullName);
} else {
    Console.WriteLine("No properties found.");
}

Here is another way to get the PropertyInfo based off this answer. It eliminates the need for an object instance.

/// <summary>
/// Get metadata of property referenced by expression. Type constrained.
/// </summary>
public static PropertyInfo GetPropertyInfo<TSource, TProperty>(Expression<Func<TSource, TProperty>> propertyLambda)
{
    return GetPropertyInfo((LambdaExpression) propertyLambda);
}

/// <summary>
/// Get metadata of property referenced by expression.
/// </summary>
public static PropertyInfo GetPropertyInfo(LambdaExpression propertyLambda)
{
    // https://stackoverflow.com/questions/671968/retrieving-property-name-from-lambda-expression
    MemberExpression member = propertyLambda.Body as MemberExpression;
    if (member == null)
        throw new ArgumentException(string.Format(
            "Expression '{0}' refers to a method, not a property.",
            propertyLambda.ToString()));

    PropertyInfo propInfo = member.Member as PropertyInfo;
    if (propInfo == null)
        throw new ArgumentException(string.Format(
            "Expression '{0}' refers to a field, not a property.",
            propertyLambda.ToString()));

    if(propertyLambda.Parameters.Count() == 0)
        throw new ArgumentException(String.Format(
            "Expression '{0}' does not have any parameters. A property expression needs to have at least 1 parameter.",
            propertyLambda.ToString()));

    var type = propertyLambda.Parameters[0].Type;
    if (type != propInfo.ReflectedType &&
        !type.IsSubclassOf(propInfo.ReflectedType))
        throw new ArgumentException(String.Format(
            "Expression '{0}' refers to a property that is not from type {1}.",
            propertyLambda.ToString(),
            type));
    return propInfo;
}

It can be called like so:

var propertyInfo = GetPropertyInfo((User u) => u.UserID);

I leave this function if you want to get multiples fields:

/// <summary>
    /// Get properties separated by , (Ex: to invoke 'd => new { d.FirstName, d.LastName }')
    /// </summary>
    /// <typeparam name="T"></typeparam>
    /// <param name="exp"></param>
    /// <returns></returns>
    public static string GetFields<T>(Expression<Func<T, object>> exp)
    {
        MemberExpression body = exp.Body as MemberExpression;
        var fields = new List<string>();
        if (body == null)
        {
            NewExpression ubody = exp.Body as NewExpression;
            if (ubody != null)
                foreach (var arg in ubody.Arguments)
                {
                    fields.Add((arg as MemberExpression).Member.Name);
                }
        }

        return string.Join(",", fields);
    }

I created an extension method on ObjectStateEntry to be able to flag properties (of Entity Framework POCO classes) as modified in a type safe manner, since the default method only accepts a string. Here's my way of getting the name from the property:

public static void SetModifiedProperty<T>(this System.Data.Objects.ObjectStateEntry state, Expression<Func<T>> action)
{
    var body = (MemberExpression)action.Body;
    string propertyName = body.Member.Name;

    state.SetModifiedProperty(propertyName);
}

I"m using an extension method for pre C# 6 projects and the nameof() for those targeting C# 6.

public static class MiscExtentions
{
    public static string NameOf<TModel, TProperty>(this object @object, Expression<Func<TModel, TProperty>> propertyExpression)
    {
        var expression = propertyExpression.Body as MemberExpression;
        if (expression == null)
        {
            throw new ArgumentException("Expression is not a property.");
        }

        return expression.Member.Name;
    }
}

And i call it like:

public class MyClass 
{
    public int Property1 { get; set; }
    public string Property2 { get; set; }
    public int[] Property3 { get; set; }
    public Subclass Property4 { get; set; }
    public Subclass[] Property5 { get; set; }
}

public class Subclass
{
    public int PropertyA { get; set; }
    public string PropertyB { get; set; }
}

// result is Property1
this.NameOf((MyClass o) => o.Property1);
// result is Property2
this.NameOf((MyClass o) => o.Property2);
// result is Property3
this.NameOf((MyClass o) => o.Property3);
// result is Property4
this.NameOf((MyClass o) => o.Property4);
// result is PropertyB
this.NameOf((MyClass o) => o.Property4.PropertyB);
// result is Property5
this.NameOf((MyClass o) => o.Property5);

It works fine with both fields and properties.

static void Main(string[] args)
{
    var prop = GetPropertyInfo<MyDto>(_ => _.MyProperty);

    MyDto dto = new MyDto();
    dto.MyProperty = 666;

    var value = prop.GetValue(dto);
    // value == 666
}

class MyDto
{
    public int MyProperty { get; set; }
}

public static PropertyInfo GetPropertyInfo<TSource>(Expression<Func<TSource, object>> propertyLambda)
{
    Type type = typeof(TSource);

    var member = propertyLambda.Body as MemberExpression;
    if (member == null)
    {
        var unary = propertyLambda.Body as UnaryExpression;
        if (unary != null)
        {
            member = unary.Operand as MemberExpression;
        }
    }
    if (member == null)
    {
        throw new ArgumentException(string.Format("Expression '{0}' refers to a method, not a property.",
            propertyLambda.ToString()));
    }

    var propInfo = member.Member as PropertyInfo;
    if (propInfo == null)
    {
        throw new ArgumentException(string.Format("Expression '{0}' refers to a field, not a property.",
            propertyLambda.ToString()));
    }

    if (type != propInfo.ReflectedType && !type.IsSubclassOf(propInfo.ReflectedType))
    {
        throw new ArgumentException(string.Format("Expression '{0}' refers to a property that is not from type {1}.",
            propertyLambda.ToString(), type));
    }

    return propInfo;
}

This might be optimal

public static string GetPropertyName<TResult>(Expression<Func<TResult>> expr)
{
    var memberAccess = expr.Body as MemberExpression;
    var propertyInfo = memberAccess?.Member as PropertyInfo;
    var propertyName = propertyInfo?.Name;

    return propertyName;
}

I was playing around with the same thing and worked this up. It's not fully tested but seems to handle the issue with value types (the unaryexpression issue you ran into)

public static string GetName(Expression<Func<object>> exp)
{
    MemberExpression body = exp.Body as MemberExpression;

    if (body == null) {
       UnaryExpression ubody = (UnaryExpression)exp.Body;
       body = ubody.Operand as MemberExpression;
    }

    return body.Member.Name;
}

I've updated @Cameron's answer to include some safety checks against Convert typed lambda expressions:

PropertyInfo GetPropertyName<TSource, TProperty>(
Expression<Func<TSource, TProperty>> propertyLambda)
{
  var body = propertyLambda.Body;
  if (!(body is MemberExpression member)
    && !(body is UnaryExpression unary
      && (member = unary.Operand as MemberExpression) != null))
    throw new ArgumentException($"Expression '{propertyLambda}' " +
      "does not refer to a property.");

  if (!(member.Member is PropertyInfo propInfo))
    throw new ArgumentException($"Expression '{propertyLambda}' " +
      "refers to a field, not a property.");

  var type = typeof(TSource);
  if (!propInfo.DeclaringType.GetTypeInfo().IsAssignableFrom(type.GetTypeInfo()))
    throw new ArgumentException($"Expresion '{propertyLambda}' " + 
      "refers to a property that is not from type '{type}'.");

  return propInfo;
}

With C# 7 pattern matching:

public static string GetMemberName<T>(this Expression<T> expression)
{
    switch (expression.Body)
    {
        case MemberExpression m:
            return m.Member.Name;
        case UnaryExpression u when u.Operand is MemberExpression m:
            return m.Member.Name;
        default:
            throw new NotImplementedException(expression.GetType().ToString());
    }
}

Example:

public static RouteValueDictionary GetInfo<T>(this HtmlHelper html, 
    Expression<Func<T, object>> action) where T : class
{
    var name = action.GetMemberName();
    return GetInfo(html, name);
}

[Update] C# 8 pattern matching:

public static string GetMemberName<T>(this Expression<T> expression) =>
    expression.Body switch
    {
        MemberExpression m =>
            m.Member.Name,
        UnaryExpression u when u.Operand is MemberExpression m =>
            m.Member.Name,
        _ =>
            throw new    NotImplementedException(expression.GetType().ToString())
    };

Here's an update to method proposed by Cameron. The first parameter is not required.

public PropertyInfo GetPropertyInfo<TSource, TProperty>(
    Expression<Func<TSource, TProperty>> propertyLambda)
{
    Type type = typeof(TSource);

    MemberExpression member = propertyLambda.Body as MemberExpression;
    if (member == null)
        throw new ArgumentException(string.Format(
            "Expression '{0}' refers to a method, not a property.",
            propertyLambda.ToString()));

    PropertyInfo propInfo = member.Member as PropertyInfo;
    if (propInfo == null)
        throw new ArgumentException(string.Format(
            "Expression '{0}' refers to a field, not a property.",
            propertyLambda.ToString()));

    if (type != propInfo.ReflectedType &&
        !type.IsSubclassOf(propInfo.ReflectedType))
        throw new ArgumentException(string.Format(
            "Expresion '{0}' refers to a property that is not from type {1}.",
            propertyLambda.ToString(),
            type));

    return propInfo;
}

You can do the following:

var propertyInfo = GetPropertyInfo<SomeType>(u => u.UserID);
var propertyInfo = GetPropertyInfo((SomeType u) => u.UserID);

Extension methods:

public static PropertyInfo GetPropertyInfo<TSource, TProperty>(this TSource source,
    Expression<Func<TSource, TProperty>> propertyLambda) where TSource : class
{
    return GetPropertyInfo(propertyLambda);
}

public static string NameOfProperty<TSource, TProperty>(this TSource source,
    Expression<Func<TSource, TProperty>> propertyLambda) where TSource : class
{
    PropertyInfo prodInfo = GetPropertyInfo(propertyLambda);
    return prodInfo.Name;
}

You can:

SomeType someInstance = null;
string propName = someInstance.NameOfProperty(i => i.Length);
PropertyInfo propInfo = someInstance.GetPropertyInfo(i => i.Length);

I have done the INotifyPropertyChanged implementation similar to the method below. Here the properties are stored in a dictionary in the base class shown below. It is of course not always desirable to use inheritance, but for view models I think it is acceptable and gives very clean property references in the view model classes.

public class PhotoDetailsViewModel
    : PropertyChangedNotifierBase<PhotoDetailsViewModel>
{
    public bool IsLoading
    {
        get { return GetValue(x => x.IsLoading); }
        set { SetPropertyValue(x => x.IsLoading, value); }
    }

    public string PendingOperation
    {
        get { return GetValue(x => x.PendingOperation); }
        set { SetPropertyValue(x => x.PendingOperation, value); }
    }

    public PhotoViewModel Photo
    {
        get { return GetValue(x => x.Photo); }
        set { SetPropertyValue(x => x.Photo, value); }
    }
}

The somewhat more complex base class is shown below. It handles the translation from lambda expression to property name. Note that the properties are really pseudo properties since only the names are used. But it will appear transparent to the view model and references to the properties on the view model.

public class PropertyChangedNotifierBase<T> : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
    readonly Dictionary<string, object> _properties = new Dictionary<string, object>();

    protected U GetValue<U>(Expression<Func<T, U>> property)
    {
        var propertyName = GetPropertyName(property);

        return GetValue<U>(propertyName);
    }

    private U GetValue<U>(string propertyName)
    {
        object value;

        if (!_properties.TryGetValue(propertyName, out value))
        {
            return default(U);
        }

        return (U)value;
    }

    protected void SetPropertyValue<U>(Expression<Func<T, U>> property, U value)
    {
        var propertyName = GetPropertyName(property);

        var oldValue = GetValue<U>(propertyName);

        if (Object.ReferenceEquals(oldValue, value))
        {
            return;
        }
        _properties[propertyName] = value;

        RaisePropertyChangedEvent(propertyName);
    }

    protected void RaisePropertyChangedEvent<U>(Expression<Func<T, U>> property)
    {
        var name = GetPropertyName(property);
        RaisePropertyChangedEvent(name);
    }

    protected void RaisePropertyChangedEvent(string propertyName)
    {
        if (PropertyChanged != null)
        {
            PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
        }
    }

    private static string GetPropertyName<U>(Expression<Func<T, U>> property)
    {
        if (property == null)
        {
            throw new NullReferenceException("property");
        }

        var lambda = property as LambdaExpression;

        var memberAssignment = (MemberExpression) lambda.Body;
        return memberAssignment.Member.Name;
    }

    public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
}

now in C# 6 you can simply use nameof like this nameof(User.UserId)

which has many benefits, among them is that this is done at compile time, not runtime.

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/dn802602.aspx

I've found that some of the suggested answers which drill down into the MemberExpression/UnaryExpression don't capture nested/subproperties.

ex) o => o.Thing1.Thing2 returns Thing1 rather than Thing1.Thing2.

This distinction is important if you're trying to work with EntityFramework DbSet.Include(...).

I've found that just parsing the Expression.ToString() seems to work fine, and comparatively quickly. I compared it against the UnaryExpression version, and even getting ToString off of the Member/UnaryExpression to see if that was faster, but the difference was negligible. Please correct me if this is a terrible idea.

The Extension Method

/// <summary>
/// Given an expression, extract the listed property name; similar to reflection but with familiar LINQ+lambdas.  Technique @via https://stackoverflow.com/a/16647343/1037948
/// </summary>
/// <remarks>Cheats and uses the tostring output -- Should consult performance differences</remarks>
/// <typeparam name="TModel">the model type to extract property names</typeparam>
/// <typeparam name="TValue">the value type of the expected property</typeparam>
/// <param name="propertySelector">expression that just selects a model property to be turned into a string</param>
/// <param name="delimiter">Expression toString delimiter to split from lambda param</param>
/// <param name="endTrim">Sometimes the Expression toString contains a method call, something like "Convert(x)", so we need to strip the closing part from the end</param>
/// <returns>indicated property name</returns>
public static string GetPropertyName<TModel, TValue>(this Expression<Func<TModel, TValue>> propertySelector, char delimiter = '.', char endTrim = ')') {

    var asString = propertySelector.ToString(); // gives you: "o => o.Whatever"
    var firstDelim = asString.IndexOf(delimiter); // make sure there is a beginning property indicator; the "." in "o.Whatever" -- this may not be necessary?

    return firstDelim < 0
        ? asString
        : asString.Substring(firstDelim+1).TrimEnd(endTrim);
}//--   fn  GetPropertyNameExtended

(Checking for the delimiter might even be overkill)

Demo (LinqPad)

Demonstration + Comparison code -- https://gist.github.com/zaus/6992590

public string GetName<TSource, TField>(Expression<Func<TSource, TField>> Field)
{
    return (Field.Body as MemberExpression ?? ((UnaryExpression)Field.Body).Operand as MemberExpression).Member.Name;
}

This handles member and unary expressions. The difference being that you will get a UnaryExpression if your expression represents a value type whereas you will get a MemberExpression if your expression represents a reference type. Everything can be cast to an object, but value types must be boxed. This is why the UnaryExpression exists. Reference.

For the sakes of readability (@Jowen), here's an expanded equivalent:

public string GetName<TSource, TField>(Expression<Func<TSource, TField>> Field)
{
    if (object.Equals(Field, null))
    {
        throw new NullReferenceException("Field is required");
    }

    MemberExpression expr = null;

    if (Field.Body is MemberExpression)
    {
        expr = (MemberExpression)Field.Body;
    }
    else if (Field.Body is UnaryExpression)
    {
        expr = (MemberExpression)((UnaryExpression)Field.Body).Operand;
    }
    else
    {
        const string Format = "Expression '{0}' not supported.";
        string message = string.Format(Format, Field);

        throw new ArgumentException(message, "Field");
    }

    return expr.Member.Name;
}

This is another answer:

public static string GetPropertyName<TModel, TProperty>(this HtmlHelper<TModel> htmlHelper,
                                                                      Expression<Func<TModel, TProperty>> expression)
    {
        var metaData = ModelMetadata.FromLambdaExpression(expression, htmlHelper.ViewData);

        return metaData.PropertyName;
    }

I recently did a very similar thing to make a type safe OnPropertyChanged method.

Here's a method that'll return the PropertyInfo object for the expression. It throws an exception if the expression is not a property.

public PropertyInfo GetPropertyInfo<TSource, TProperty>(
    TSource source,
    Expression<Func<TSource, TProperty>> propertyLambda)
{
    Type type = typeof(TSource);

    MemberExpression member = propertyLambda.Body as MemberExpression;
    if (member == null)
        throw new ArgumentException(string.Format(
            "Expression '{0}' refers to a method, not a property.",
            propertyLambda.ToString()));

    PropertyInfo propInfo = member.Member as PropertyInfo;
    if (propInfo == null)
        throw new ArgumentException(string.Format(
            "Expression '{0}' refers to a field, not a property.",
            propertyLambda.ToString()));

    if (type != propInfo.ReflectedType &&
        !type.IsSubclassOf(propInfo.ReflectedType))
        throw new ArgumentException(string.Format(
            "Expression '{0}' refers to a property that is not from type {1}.",
            propertyLambda.ToString(),
            type));

    return propInfo;
}

The source parameter is used so the compiler can do type inference on the method call. You can do the following

var propertyInfo = GetPropertyInfo(someUserObject, u => u.UserID);

Well, there's no need to call .Name.ToString(), but broadly that is about it, yes. The only consideration you might need is whether x.Foo.Bar should return "Foo", "Bar", or an exception - i.e. do you need to iterate at all.

(re comment) for more on flexible sorting, see here.