Is there an easy way to convert object properties to a dictionary

Question

I have a database object (a row), that has lots of properties (columns) that map to form fields (asp:textbox, asp:dropdownlist etc). I would like to transform this

Answer 1

Take a look at System.ComponentModel.TypeDescriptor.GetProperties( ... ). This is the way the normal data binding bits work. It will use reflection and return you a collection of property descriptors (which you can use to get the values). You can customize these descriptors for performace by implementing ICustomTypeDescriptor .