JJ.Framework.Reflection 0.250.2323

JJ.Framework.Reflection

Extensions to the System.Reflection and System.Linq.Expressions namespaces.

Work with expressions and reflection. Turn lambdas into text: "myParam.MyList[i].MyProperty". Extract structured method call data: { "MyMethod", Parameters = { "myParameter", int, 3 } }. Find types and implementations for plug-ins. Access private members with Accessors. Use ReflectionCache for fast access to properties, fields, methods and indexers. Includes helpers like IsIndexer, IsStatic and more!

• ExpressionHelper
• Accessor
• ReflectionCache
• Reflection Helpers

ExpressionHelper

Converts many types of lambda expressions into text or retrieves its resulting value. Here are some of the things it can do:

For instance:

GetText(() => myParam.MyProperty.MyList[i].MySomething)

Will return the string:

"myParam.MyProperty.MyList[i].MySomething"

Similarly you can retrieve its value:

GetValue(() => myParam.MyProperty.MyList[i].MySomething)

which can return:

3

It can also give you method info, parameter names and parameter value info from lambda expressions.

For instance:

GetMethodCallInfo(() => MyMethod(3));

Will return:

MethodCallInfo
{
    Name = "MyMethod",
    Parameters = 
    {
        ParameterType = typeof(int),
        Name = "myParameter",
        Value = 3
    }
};

Accessor

Allows easy access to the internal, private or protected elements of an assembly or class.

For instance if you have the following private method in a class:

class MyClass
{
    private int MyPrivateMethod(int myParameter)
    {
        return 3;
    }
}

You can run that private method, that would otherwise not be available:

var myObject = new MyClass();
var accessor = new MyAccessor(myObject);
int myInt = accessor.MyPrivateMethod(1);

You can do that by writing the following wrapper class:

class MyAccessor
{
    Accessor _accessor;

    public MyAccessor(MyClass myObject) => _accessor = new Accessor(myObject);

    public int MyPrivateMethod(int myParameter) 
        => _accessor.InvokeMethod(() => MyPrivateMethod((myParameter));
}

Limitations
If Accessor doesn't suffice for some use case, it might be an idea to use System.Reflection directly or PrivateObject and PrivateType from a test framework you might use. Those may have slightly more complex syntax, but may offer a diversion where this Accessor class might not be able to help you.

ReflectionCache

Makes using reflection much faster in certain cases. For instance the GetProperties method can be expensive, which is much faster through the ReflectionCache class.

Example:

private static readonly ReflectionCache _reflectionCache 
    = new ReflectionCache(BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Instance);

PropertyInfo[] properties 
    = _reflectionCache.GetProperties(typeof(MyClass));

You can also get other types of constructs in a fast way:

• Methods
• Indexers
• Fields
• Constructor
• GetTypeByShortName

In this version, some of the options may only be available in the StaticReflectionCache variant. That variant may perform slightly less fast.

Reflection Helpers

Various helper methods, but one of the most useful features is the GetImplementation method and variations thereof, which allow you to retrieve implementations of a specified base class or interface from an assembly, which is useful for plug-in development.

• GetImplementations
  • Allows you to retrieve implementations of a specified base class or interface from an assembly, which is useful for plug-in development.
• GetItemType
  • Gets the item type of a collection type.
• IsIndexerMethod
  • Can tell you if a MethodInfo points to an indexer property.
• IsStatic
  • Can tell you if a MemberInfo is static.
• TypesFromObjects
  • You can pass objects to it, and it will return the concrete types of those objects, with some tolerance for nulls.
• IsAssignableFrom / IsAssignableTo
  • Similar to the original Type.IsAssignableFrom, but now also an IsAssignableTo variation, if you find that more intuitive.
• GetFieldOrException
  • Type.GetField returns null if the field does not exist. This method is a little safer than that and throws a clear exception if the field does not exist.

💬 Feedback

Found an issue? Let me know.