Question

I want to create a helper method that I can imagine has a signature similar to this:

public static MyHtmlTag GenerateTag<T>(this HtmlHelper htmlHelper, object obj)
{
    // how do I create an instance of MyAnchor? 
    // this returns MyAnchor, which has a MyHtmlTag base
}

When I invoke the method, I want to specify a type of MyHtmlTag, such as MyAnchor, e.g.:

<%= Html.GenerateTag<MyAnchor>(obj) %>

or

<%= Html.GenerateTag<MySpan>(obj) %>

Can someone show me how to create this method?

Also, what’s involved in creating an instance of the type I specified? Activator.CreateInstance()?

Thanks

Dave

Answer 1

You’d use Activator.CreateInstance<T>:

public static MyHtmlTag GenerateTag<T>(this HtmlHelper htmlHelper, object obj)
{
    T value = Activator.CreateInstance<T>();
    // Set properties on value/ use it/etc
    return value;
}