Question

I want to pass in the tType of a class to a function, and the class object to a generic function.

I need to be able to cast to that Type (of class) so I can access the class’s methods.

Something like:

void GenericFunction(Object obj, Type type) {     (type)obj.someContainer.Add(1); } 

Would implementing an interface for these classes and then casting to that interface work? If so, could someone give an example?

I’ve been Googling for the past few hours, and I’ve never had to do this before.

Can someone shed some light?

Answer 1

Here’s three ways to go about what you’re asking:

public interface ICanReport { void Report(); }  public class SomeThing : ICanReport {     public void Report()     { Console.WriteLine('I'm SomeThing'); } }  public class SomeOtherThing : ICanReport {     public void Report()     { Console.WriteLine('I'm SomeOtherThing'); } }  public class TestThings {     //#1 use safe downcasting     public void TheMethod(object x)     {         ICanReport y = x as ICanReport;         if (y != null)           y.Report();     }      //#2 use generics     //  100% safe, but a little complex     public void AnotherMethod<T>(T x) where T : ICanReport     {         x.Report();     }      //#3 use an interface as the parameter type.     //  simple and safe     public void LastMethod(ICanReport x)     {         x.Report();     }      //sample calls     public void Test1()     {         SomeThing a = new SomeThing();         SomeOtherThing b = new SomeOtherThing();         TheMethod(a);         TheMethod(b);         AnotherMethod(a);         AnotherMethod(b);         LastMethod(a);         LastMethod(b);     } }