Question

1. I have a value in a variable of type Object.
2. I have its type in a variable of type Type.
3. Type can be only among standard system types (Int32, Int64, etc..)

Q. I want to get bytes array representing this value. I’m trying to use BitConverter.GetBytes for that, but it requires a typed variable. Is there a way to get typed variable dynamically having a value and type in separate variables?

Thank you.

Answer 1

If you don’t want to switch on each type and call the appropriate method, which is the fastest way, you could use reflection, albeit a bit slower:

byte[] GetBytes(object obj)
{
    var type = obj.GetType();
    return (byte[])typeof(BitConverter)
        .GetMethods(BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Static)
        .Single(m => m.Name == "GetBytes" && m.GetParameters().Single().ParameterType == type)
        .Invoke(null, new object[] { obj });
}

Calling GetBytes((short)12345) produces new byte[] { 0x39 ,0x30 }.