CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#
SDanks
SDanks

Reputation: 671

How to refer to an object name through a variable?

I have some code that will open a sqllite database, get some street names, and populate a list box that is then attached to a combo-box so it can suggest the names as the user types them. I want to make a procedure that I can call to do this since it will be used on may different combo-boxes. I can pass it the name of the control, but how do I modify attributes of a contol while referring to it as a variable?

Something like:

string A = "cbSTreets"
[A].text = "Sets the Text for the combo box."

If someone could just point me in the right direction I would appreciate it.

Upvotes: 0

Views: 836

Answers (3)

Felix C
Felix C

Reputation: 1775

This is only possible via reflection and should be avoided!

You should do this the normal way.

For the solution how to do it with reflection, look here: How to access class member by string in C#?

Upvotes: 0

Cameron Tinker
Cameron Tinker

Reputation: 9789

You could try something like this:

private void SetText(List<string> streets, ComboBox cb)
{
    cb.DataSource = streets;
}

Of course, you'll need to fill the streets from your database and pass in the ComboBox control you want to populate. You can use another collection if you like, but ComboBox datasources need to implement the IList interface.

Upvotes: 1

CorrugatedAir
CorrugatedAir

Reputation: 819

Instead of passing it as the name of a control, why not just pass the control itself (especially if they're all comboboxes and the same type?)

Alternatively if for some reason you can't pass the control itself, you could set something up with a datastructure like a dictionary if you need to use the string name:

Dictionary<string, ComboBox> comboBoxes = new Dictionary<string, ComboBox>();

//Use the string you want to refer to the combobox and the combobox item itself
comboBoxes.Add("bcbsTreets", comboBox1); 

//Use the name as defined in the previous step to get the reference to the combobox and
//set the text
comboBoxes["bcbsTreets"].Text = "whatever";

Upvotes: 1

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