In C#, how to instantiate a passed generic type inside a method?

Question

How can I instantiate the type T inside my InstantiateType method below?

I\'m getting the error: \'T\' is a \'type parameter\' but is u

Answer 1

Couple of ways.

Without specifying the type must have a constructor:

T obj = default(T); //which will produce null for reference types

With a constructor:

T obj = new T();

But this requires the clause:

where T : new()

Answer 2

A bit old but for others looking for a solution, perhaps this could be of interest: http://daniel.wertheim.se/2011/12/29/c-generic-factory-with-support-for-private-constructors/

Two solutions. One using Activator and one using Compiled Lambdas.

//Person has private ctor
var person = Factory<Person>.Create(p => p.Name = "Daniel");

public static class Factory<T> where T : class 
{
    private static readonly Func<T> FactoryFn;

    static Factory()
    {
        //FactoryFn = CreateUsingActivator();

        FactoryFn = CreateUsingLambdas();
    }

    private static Func<T> CreateUsingActivator()
    {
        var type = typeof(T);

        Func<T> f = () => Activator.CreateInstance(type, true) as T;

        return f;
    }

    private static Func<T> CreateUsingLambdas()
    {
        var type = typeof(T);

        var ctor = type.GetConstructor(
            BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.CreateInstance |
            BindingFlags.NonPublic,
            null, new Type[] { }, null);

        var ctorExpression = Expression.New(ctor);
        return Expression.Lambda<Func<T>>(ctorExpression).Compile();
    }

    public static T Create(Action<T> init)
    {
        var instance = FactoryFn();

        init(instance);

        return instance;
    }
}