Question

Is it possible to define a generic type in C# that references itself?

E.g. I want to define a Dictionary<> that holds its type as TValue (for a hierarchy).

Dictionary<string, Dictionary<string, Dictionary<string, [...]>>> 

Answer 1

Try:

class StringToDictionary : Dictionary<string, StringToDictionary> { } 

Then you can write:

var stuff = new StringToDictionary         {             { 'Fruit', new StringToDictionary                 {                     { 'Apple', null },                     { 'Banana', null },                     { 'Lemon', new StringToDictionary { { 'Sharp', null } } }                 }             },         }; 

General principle for recursion: find some way to give a name to the recursive pattern, so it can refer to itself by name.