Question

Hello I have a problem with generics, i’am creating a custom vertex structure for my game and i want to be abel to do this with generics so i can change my vertex type quickly.

this is what it looks like right now:

public struct ETerrainVertex
{
    public Vector3 Position;
    public Vector3 Normal;
    public Vector2 TextureCoordinate;

    public static int SizeInBytes = (3 + 3 + 2) * 4;
    public static VertexElement[] VertexElements = new VertexElement[]
    {
        new VertexElement(0, VertexElementFormat.Vector3, VertexElementUsage.Position, 0),
        new VertexElement(0, VertexElementFormat.Vector3, VertexElementUsage.Normal, 0),
        new VertexElement(0, VertexElementFormat.Vector2, VertexElementUsage.TextureCoordinate, 0)
    };
}

And then I use it like this:

//I have to add a constraint to the T but an interface wont cut.
//where T : struct, thingThatAddsConstrainsPositionAndNormal
public sealed class EQuadNode<T> : IEclipse where T : struct
{ 
    T foo;
    foo.Position; //dont work
}

But since I use fields i cant simply create an interface and add it to the where restrictions as interfaces only can have properties.

So is there any way to do this?

Answer 1

You can create in interface for ETerrainVertex if you use properties instead of fields:

public interface IVertex
{
    public Vector3 Position {get;set;}
 }

public struct ETerrainVertex : IVertex
{
    public Vector3 Position {get;set;}
}

Don’t worry about the performance impact of using properties, as there is none in this case IIRC.