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How do I set a field value in an C# Expression tree?

Asked 2008-11-26T18:15:34.803
41

Given:

FieldInfo field = <some valid string field on type T>;
ParameterExpression targetExp = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "target");
ParameterExpression valueExp = Expression.Parameter(typeof(string), "value");

How do I compile a lambda expression to set the field on the "target" parameter to "value"?

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1 Answer

24

Setting a field is, as already discussed, problematic. You can can (in 3.5) a single method, such as a property-setter - but only indirectly. This gets much easier in 4.0, as discussed here. However, if you actually have properties (not fields), you can do a lot simply with Delegate.CreateDelegate:

using System;
using System.Reflection;
public class Foo
{
    public int Bar { get; set; }
}
static class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        MethodInfo method = typeof(Foo).GetProperty("Bar").GetSetMethod();
        Action<Foo, int> setter = (Action<Foo, int>)
            Delegate.CreateDelegate(typeof(Action<Foo, int>), method);

        Foo foo = new Foo();
        setter(foo, 12);
        Console.WriteLine(foo.Bar);
    }
}
answered 2008-11-26T22:40:47.637

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