Retrieving Property name from lambda expression

Question

Is there a better way to get the Property name when passed in via a lambda expression? Here is what i currently have.

eg.

GetSortingInfo         


        

Answer 1

I"m using an extension method for pre C# 6 projects and the nameof() for those targeting C# 6.

public static class MiscExtentions
{
    public static string NameOf<TModel, TProperty>(this object @object, Expression<Func<TModel, TProperty>> propertyExpression)
    {
        var expression = propertyExpression.Body as MemberExpression;
        if (expression == null)
        {
            throw new ArgumentException("Expression is not a property.");
        }

        return expression.Member.Name;
    }
}

And i call it like:

public class MyClass 
{
    public int Property1 { get; set; }
    public string Property2 { get; set; }
    public int[] Property3 { get; set; }
    public Subclass Property4 { get; set; }
    public Subclass[] Property5 { get; set; }
}

public class Subclass
{
    public int PropertyA { get; set; }
    public string PropertyB { get; set; }
}

// result is Property1
this.NameOf((MyClass o) => o.Property1);
// result is Property2
this.NameOf((MyClass o) => o.Property2);
// result is Property3
this.NameOf((MyClass o) => o.Property3);
// result is Property4
this.NameOf((MyClass o) => o.Property4);
// result is PropertyB
this.NameOf((MyClass o) => o.Property4.PropertyB);
// result is Property5
this.NameOf((MyClass o) => o.Property5);

It works fine with both fields and properties.

Answer 2

public string GetName<TSource, TField>(Expression<Func<TSource, TField>> Field)
{
    return (Field.Body as MemberExpression ?? ((UnaryExpression)Field.Body).Operand as MemberExpression).Member.Name;
}

This handles member and unary expressions. The difference being that you will get a UnaryExpression if your expression represents a value type whereas you will get a MemberExpression if your expression represents a reference type. Everything can be cast to an object, but value types must be boxed. This is why the UnaryExpression exists. Reference.

For the sakes of readability (@Jowen), here's an expanded equivalent:

public string GetName<TSource, TField>(Expression<Func<TSource, TField>> Field)
{
    if (object.Equals(Field, null))
    {
        throw new NullReferenceException("Field is required");
    }

    MemberExpression expr = null;

    if (Field.Body is MemberExpression)
    {
        expr = (MemberExpression)Field.Body;
    }
    else if (Field.Body is UnaryExpression)
    {
        expr = (MemberExpression)((UnaryExpression)Field.Body).Operand;
    }
    else
    {
        const string Format = "Expression '{0}' not supported.";
        string message = string.Format(Format, Field);

        throw new ArgumentException(message, "Field");
    }

    return expr.Member.Name;
}

Answer 3

I created an extension method on ObjectStateEntry to be able to flag properties (of Entity Framework POCO classes) as modified in a type safe manner, since the default method only accepts a string. Here's my way of getting the name from the property:

public static void SetModifiedProperty<T>(this System.Data.Objects.ObjectStateEntry state, Expression<Func<T>> action)
{
    var body = (MemberExpression)action.Body;
    string propertyName = body.Member.Name;

    state.SetModifiedProperty(propertyName);
}

Answer 4

Well, there's no need to call .Name.ToString(), but broadly that is about it, yes. The only consideration you might need is whether x.Foo.Bar should return "Foo", "Bar", or an exception - i.e. do you need to iterate at all.

(re comment) for more on flexible sorting, see here.

Answer 5

I leave this function if you want to get multiples fields:

/// <summary>
    /// Get properties separated by , (Ex: to invoke 'd => new { d.FirstName, d.LastName }')
    /// </summary>
    /// <typeparam name="T"></typeparam>
    /// <param name="exp"></param>
    /// <returns></returns>
    public static string GetFields<T>(Expression<Func<T, object>> exp)
    {
        MemberExpression body = exp.Body as MemberExpression;
        var fields = new List<string>();
        if (body == null)
        {
            NewExpression ubody = exp.Body as NewExpression;
            if (ubody != null)
                foreach (var arg in ubody.Arguments)
                {
                    fields.Add((arg as MemberExpression).Member.Name);
                }
        }

        return string.Join(",", fields);
    }

Answer 6

Starting with .NET 4.0 you can use ExpressionVisitor to find properties:

class ExprVisitor : ExpressionVisitor {
    public bool IsFound { get; private set; }
    public string MemberName { get; private set; }
    public Type MemberType { get; private set; }
    protected override Expression VisitMember(MemberExpression node) {
        if (!IsFound && node.Member.MemberType == MemberTypes.Property) {
            IsFound = true;
            MemberName = node.Member.Name;
            MemberType = node.Type;
        }
        return base.VisitMember(node);
    }
}

Here is how you use this visitor:

var visitor = new ExprVisitor();
visitor.Visit(expr);
if (visitor.IsFound) {
    Console.WriteLine("First property in the expression tree: Name={0}, Type={1}", visitor.MemberName, visitor.MemberType.FullName);
} else {
    Console.WriteLine("No properties found.");
}