Question

I need to create a generic object based on a type that is stored in a database. How can I acheive this? The code below (which won’t compile) explains what I mean:

string typeString = GetTypeFromDatabase(key);
Type objectType = Type.GetType(typeString);

//This won't work, but you get the idea!
MyObject<objectType> myobject = new MyObject<objectType>();

Is it possible to do this kind of thing?

Thanks

Answer 1

Type type = typeof(MyObject<>).MakeGenericType(objectType);
object myObject = Activator.CreateInstance(type);

Also – watch out; Type.GetType(string) only checks the executing assembly and a few system assemblies; it doesn’t scan everything. If you use an assembly-qualified-name you should be fine – otherwise you may need to get the Assembly first, and use someAssembly.GetType(string).